May 19, 2020
I was supposed to be on an airplane today. There are a lot of “I was supposed to” these days.
My daughter was supposed to be playing Laura in an adaptation of “The Glass Menagerie”… her final production during her undergraduate years and before college graduation next month.
My son was hopefully going to be preparing with his D-1 Ultimate Frisbee team… College Nationals were supposed to be in Milwaukee this weekend.
My goddaughter was supposed to be making public appearances as Miss Wisconsin USA; on her way to the Miss USA pageant this summer.
My grandniece was supposed to be in grade-school with her classmates, getting to see the bunnies that visit the schoolyard… she told me the other day she misses them… the friends and the bunnies.
A friend was supposed to be holding her new great granddaughter and tickling sweet baby feet.
There are many different ways, to many different people, that “supposed to” is feeling more like a lost dream… Supposed to:
find housing
begin a new job
celebrate a milestone
get a promotion
say goodbye
say hello
For all these and more “supposed to”, I offer this blessing this night:
Beatitudes for a New Creation
"Blessed are the hopeful; they hold a promise of tomorrow.
Blessed are the courageous;
they embrace the challenge of today.
Blessed are the forgiving;
they are free of the burden of the past.
Blessed are the people of prolonged engagement;
they will create a better world for the children.
Blessed are the disappointed;
they will rise and anticipate a better day.
Blessed are the self-forgetful;
they will engage in a passionate embrace.
Blessed are the flowers, bursting forth in the spring.
Blessed are the children, celebrating spontaneity and new life.
Blessed are the contemplatives;
they will embrace the universe as one.
Blessed are the liberators; they will set all the captives free.
Blessed are the creation-centered people;
they will appreciate the beauty of the earth.
Blessed are the Earthlings;
they shall experience the longing of creation.
Blessed are the engaged mystics;
they will ignite a fire on the earth and
unite the stars and the street.
Blessed are those who yearn for God;
they will experience the
interdependence of contemplation,
the freedom of liberation,
the beauty of the new creation.”
— James Conlon
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