At the End of the Day, I'm Grateful

Dear Molly,

It has always ticked you off a tad when people say "I'm blessed" and all the variants. Sure, the religious overtones irk you. But it's more than that.

It's partially how people toss it around. We say "Bless you" when someone sneezes (but that's another story) and when we're going on a tangent thanking someone. When we're wishing someone good luck. And as a teenager in whatever context.

Good ol' Merriam-Webster tells us:

Bless

transitive verb

1. religion : to hallow or consecrate by religious rite or word

2. religion : to hallow with the sign of the cross

3. to invoke divine care for

bless your heart—used in the phrase bless you to wish good health especially to one who has just sneezed

4a. praise, glorify

b. to speak well of: approve

5. to confer prosperity or happiness upon

6.archaic : protect, preserve

7. endow, favor

You usually don't feel blessed, in any sense of the word. More often, you feel cursed. You were cursed with depression and anxiety. You were cursed with a crap hand with music education in your younger years. You were cursed with a high school experience that played out like a bad telenovela. You were cursed with a rocky (at best) start to college.

Maybe you were blessed with a loving family. Innate intelligence. A caring nature. A desire to overcome. Who knows?

But at the end of the day, you're grateful. You're grateful you had a happy childhood. You're grateful for your analytical mind that can't take anything at face value. You're grateful for your friends who love you for you. You're grateful that you've found your passions early in life. 

More than anything, you're grateful that your past doesn't have to define your future. And your future is bright.  

Song of the Day: Kaleidoscope by Coldplay

Okay, this is more like half a song. It's a poem that is read on a track of a Coldplay album.

Either way, it captures the sentiment nicely: Life is going to have ups and downs, but you should embrace every moment.

this being human is a guest house
every morning a new arrival
a joy, a depression, a meanness
some momentary awareness comes
as an unexpected visitor

welcome and entertain them all!

be grateful for whoever comes
because each has been sent
as a guide

Love,

Molly