Putting a twist on this common phrase... Prepare yourself for an extended metaphor in this blog!
Inspiration
They say you can't teach an old dog new tricks, but what about giving an old phrase new meaning? I say yes! We've all heard the phrase "count your blessings" many times. So, if you're like me, that encouragement has lost meaning over the years. With this post, I want to try to breathe some new life into it so we can appreciate the message it sends.
I'm going to be real honest and say that this concept came to me late at night, so I'm still putting the pieces together and trying to make them make sense... so you will have to bear with me. Either way, here we go!
Anyways, I was thinking about the phrase and wondering why I should count my blessings. It was in that moment when I began to understand something I'd never thought about before: what if we thought of blessings in the same way that we thought about money?
Blessings as Currency
Now, this might come across as a shallow way to look at an inspirational phrase, but that's not at all what I'm going for. I simply find it easier to comprehend something intangible, like a blessing, when it's compared to something tangible, like money.
With that said, allow me to pose this question: why would we be told to count our blessings if they didn't matter?
Exactly, there wouldn't be any need to count your blessings if it wasn't important to keep track of them. Essentially, blessings are valuable, just like money. So, this blog is going to dive into how we should treat or think about our blessings through the lens of money or currency.
Saving
In my opinion, this is what "count your blessings" is referring to. Most of the time, when this phrase is used, it's when people are going through a hard time or are struggling to find the good. I find the context significant to understanding what the act of saving would have to do with blessings.
This phrase is supposed to remind someone who is struggling to seek the good things in life. Of course, that's easier said than done. But if we're able to store up the blessings and the goodness that we find in this life, we will be better equipped to fight the hard times. Saving up blessings for the bad times is like a financial savings account, something that you use when unexpected expenses or difficulties come up. That's why this phrase is so important: it prepares us to face bad times with good thoughts, memories, and attitudes.
One way that I've done this in the past is set up a little mason jar to put little nuggets of joy in. I had a stack of sticky notes next to the jar and when I wanted to remember something good that happened that day, I would write it down and put it in the jar. Now, if I'm having a bad day, I can pull sticky notes out of the jar and be reminded of the good things that have happened in my life. I highly recommend this practice, or just keeping a list on your phone of the blessings and good things going on in your own life.
However, while "count your blessings" mostly refers to saving up the good things in life, I think we need to make sure to extend it beyond ourselves.
Investing
The metaphor continues!
As a young adult, I get a lot of life advice, much of which is about being wise with money. One of the things that comes up the most is to make sure I invest my money wisely so that it grows and multiplies. Since we're saying that blessings are like money, I believe that it's necessary to talk about blessing investment.
Let's start by defining what a blessing investment is. I would describe this type of investing as giving, so it means you would be giving blessings. And in the same way that financial investments create profit for the investor, also known as a return on the investment, so do blessings.
What's the return for investing in blessings?
The return is changing our world. This is the most important type of blessing—more than property, fixed interest, or stock investments. This is the type of investment that doesn't just help the investor, but those around them too. When we give goodness, patience, love, time, effort, or anything to help someone, we're investing in making the world a better place. By giving blessings, we're created a blessed environment.
In Conclusion
It's important to count your blessings because they hold value, they're intangible riches. By taking time to notice and hold onto goodness, we can appreciate this life even in the trials and frustrations. They remind us that we are rich in the things that truly matter, the things that are not of this world, the things that cannot be bought. Count your blessings, save your blessings, pass on your blessings—this is the cycle of an impactful life.
So, make sure you take some time to day to count your blessings and be sure to pass them onto those around you!
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