Photo by Mateus Campos Felipe
Of all Jesus’ superpowers, the blessing is the one that’s most accessible to us. You may not be able to make sick people see or shed leprosy, but you can make them feel just a little bit better.
Blessing is just the opposite of cursing.
It's not just something gods, angels, and messiahs do, but people can do it too. And the way you do it is to look at someone and do the opposite of what you'd do to harm them: Try to help them. NOT save them, mind you, just provide some comfort and letting them know they are seen.
Which is to say, figure out what they need and give it to them. Have a conversation with them. REALLY listen to what they're afraid of or hurt by, and then instead of exploiting it or saying something that cuts them to the core, you say the thing to them that is both truthful and uplifting.
Example: Some years ago I was working late and took a Lyft home. Tired of staring at screens all day, I chatted up the driver. He told me he was working to become a voiceover actor in video games. So we chatted about his favorite games, what it was he loved about them, and what he could do to break in. At my stop, I told him I hoped to play a game someday with characters in it that he voiced.
Nothing incredible. But when I said it, he was beaming and, I like to think, a bit more hopeful for the future.
Maybe he’s already forgotten it. But what if he hasn’t? What if he went on to make something truly outstanding. And what if that blessing played even a tiny part in making my next favorite game?
Imagine if you got really good at this blessing thing. You could become known as the guy who knows precisely just what to say in every situation. And that's a good guy to have around. People are genuinely appreciative of his existence. He is a hero who provides comfort in times of chaos.
It's not easy. At first, you might come across creepy or suspicious because it may not be natural. Still feel weird about it because you can’t shake that weird cult leader vibe associated with the word? Stop it. Don’t bless the way the pope does it. Bless the way you would. With some practice and effort, you could make someone’s day just with a touch and a word. You may even activate their placebo effect, which actually would lead to healing.
Say what you will about Tony Robbins, but he’s a master at this. Here he is saving someone from some serious psychological suffering:
Imagine if we did more of that for other people. If we blessed people who are sad, hurt or scared with hugs, really listened to and comforted our spouses and our elders, treated fast-food attendants like they were human beings, etc. And if everybody did that then we would suffer a whole lot less because the world would literally be a blessed place.