On Blessings

I've been rereading parts of R. Lew's "Be Still and Get Going" on the basics of Jewish Mediation, partly because I need to get back into the habit myself, and partly because it was the only book in the house — until today — that I hadn't already read in the past three months.

He describes the wandering mind and getting back "into the moment," which he — as well as others — asserts is the point of meditation, its biggest benefit. The longer you practice, the easier mindfulness becomes, and the more it bleeds into your every day. Mindfulness is close to G-dliness, to borrow a phrase, because G-d is in the moment. "Ehyeh-Asher-Ehyeh," I was/am/will be who I was/am/will be, G-d tells Moses when he wants to know what name he should tell the Israelites — history, existence, and potential all wrapped in the only moment that counts: the now.

This struck me in terms of the Jewish tradition of blessing — a blessing for everything and everything with its blessing — that some find tedious, onerous or, worse, rote and mechanistic. Why do the rabbis insist we should say 100 blessings every day? So we should miss the soul of the universe going by as we utter nonesense? Exactly the opposite. We should be aware of our world, grateful for its bounty, mindful of its constant blessings.

If you haven't made the connection — and I didn't until last night — meditation helps us bless, and blessing is mindfulness of G-d's presence. So, a blessing on you that you should be more mindful and bless 100 times a day.