This turned out to be a somewhat positive post. That wasn't obvious from the start. I thought it would rather become dark again.
Friday is my birthday. 37 it is. Can't say I care too much about that in and of itself. There was one thing that made me care about them, though - Lily. This is going to be my first birthday in a long time without her. Father's Day and my birthday are always very close (this year they're only 2 days apart), a good excuse to have Lily spend the month of June with me. That included also the Inti Raymi, the Sun Festival, celebrated by the indigenous here. Since many of my friends, including Lily's former nanny, are Kichwa, Lily is always invited to join them (more than I...). They dress her up in traditional clothing, and she gets stuffed with sweets and other stuff that I grumpily smile upon and say "Exception."
Not this year. I still have no clue where they are. The legal process is taking its time, as predicted. All parts of it. But being at the courthouse also allows me to see the rest of it. My case, though loathsome to me, is not as bad.
I have many blessings.
And it's good to be reminded of them. My family, by blood and by choice. My community. My education. My upbringing. My relative wealth. My health. My looks. My mindset. And I could probably go on, going further into detail about all the little things I'm grateful for (like the awesome coffee mill that my brother gifted me).
A blessing never comes alone.
At least for me. In every blessing lies responsibility. On how to use it. In an inter-connected world, we're not the result of "only" hard work and self-development. Everything relies on our relations to others, both humans and the environment. "I" alone does not exist, it only exists in the relation "I-You" or "I-It".
Anyone knows from which half-forgotten German philosopher that statement is paraphrased?
Hence, nothing I have is entirely mine. Yes, I did my part to obtain a few of them. Others are more like privileges (a trigger word for some 馃槈), pure luck. Or bad luck, for others. There is the possibility of re-incarnation as what you deserve to be, but I could never wrap my mind around that. I rather believe in the combination of self-obtained and gifted blessings.
What to make of them?
That, too, is part of the responsibility. To turn the blessings into more than just the ego-centered acceptance of them, but to use them to do good by others. To give back. Which will probably lead to more blessings somehow, at least in my experience. Everything I shared genuinely and altruistically came back 10 fold. An epiphany that somewhat compromises the altruistic component. Oh, well. It's still genuine.
It all fades, anyway.
Just today I commented on a post quoting Marcus Aurelius. MA has many blessings, so to speak, being an emperor. But he never gets complacent about that. He always reminds himself of what is more important than anything material - working on one's self.
Which is a blessing, too.
Being able to do so. Being able to wanting to do so. Being able to even realize there's work to be done. I know way too many people who don't have that ability. I believe that working intrinsically is the path to true happiness. Which aligns me a lot with the Stoics. And I'm glad that a friend of mine talks about them often enough that I bough Meditations when I saw them on sale in Germany.
I'm blessed.
Despite my aching heart. Despite the injustice. It's good to remember that from time to time.
What are your thoughts about this topic? Please feel free to engage in any original way, including dropping links to your posts on similar topics. I'm happy to read (and curate) any quality content that is not created by LLM/AI, as well as read your own experience and point of view, I love to learn!
Pictures taken with a Motorola Edge 60 Pro, I reserve the copyright - but feel free to ask if you want to use one of the pictures!
