Michelle Andres Writes ~ Hopelessly deep thinker, frighteningly keen observer, discerning feeler and Jesus-loving, imperfect human storyteller … at your service.

Bless You .

Have a cold? No. Are you cold? Perhaps.

As 2013 comes to a close, I re-evaluate the year. Did I do the things I set out to accomplish? Am I closer to being the person I want to be? Did I backslide a bit? Maybe?

We create our own reality very close to home…right between our ears! (click to Tweet). Much of what we worry about will never happen. What we assume, it’s just a story. The practice of judgment makes us feel like we’re safe, like we understand our world.

Judgment makes us believe our lies AND it keeps us stuck…often. (click to Tweet)

On a recent, cross state driving excursion I found myself blaming the driver in front of me. All those people on the crowded road…have you ever noticed….they’re such BAD drivers! There’s the inconsiderate man who wouldn’t pull over to let me to pass, the downright rude young woman who cut me off, the clueless “older person” whose varying speed jacked up the cruise control. They probably don’t even know how to use cruise control. That’s sort of a techie option, eh? My frustration grew…then I remembered Pierre Pradverand’s book “The Gentle Art of Blessing.” One of my all time favorites, it advocates for a practice of blessing all you meet. The man crossing the street, “Bless you!” The person in front of you at the checkout line, “Bless you.” The person dawdling in front of you and jacking up your cruise control, “Bless you, as well.” Blessings to all…Namaste.  Blessings from the deepest chamber of my heart…sincere…authentic…where judgment cannot survive.

No matter your religious or spiritual beliefs, you can unconditionally bless those in your world. Pradervand has found this practice changes lives. It changed his life. It changed lives of people he shared it with. It changed a life of a prisoner on death row! Slowing it down, seeing our sisters and brothers as our sisters and brothers (rather than obstacles to be dealt with) changes our energy, our perceptions and our world. I once even led a work team through the exercise in a large healthcare system, an experiment to see if we could change the way we treated one another. If you bless them, it changes YOU. And without scientific evidence, I’m guessing it will change the world.

I’ll admit, in this busy season I’ve fallen short and haven’t been embracing blessing. When I did,  it made for a much more pleasant long drive. My time was the same and the goodwill was bountiful. Today, I will continue to bless those I meet. I invite you to do the same and let me know how it changes your life.

Watch about the Gentle Art of Blessing  

Bless you along your way and into 2014….

Michelle Andres is a coach, writer and artist who nudges, nay, shoves her clients in the direction of their dreams by helping them improve productivity and cultivate good behaviours while eliminating poor ones.

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 Ready for some creative fun while pursuing your dreams for the new year? I’ll be having a Beginning Mosaic Workshop called ” Magic in 2014″ in January. Register or  learn more!