Coffee Contemplation: Blessings

Extending a blessing on a blessed day.

This is another unscripted and unrehearsed reflection. Even though the recovering perfectionist in me would like to re-record this, many of you tell me these imperfect and real-time reflections are the most impactful. I hope this one is a blessing.

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Audio narration by David Marlow

Transcript:

David Marlow-For today's coffee contemplation, I want to share a blessing with you, in part because today is a blessed day for me, a day that I've been blessed many times over. It's June 27th, and on June 27th, 1981, 44 years ago today, I went on a blind date that changed my life forever. I met a beautiful young woman with long brown hair and big blue eyes. We fell for each other immediately and went out on that date—a double date with a friend and her date. She's the one who introduced us.

I called her the following Tuesday, which she will tell you today was way too long. I waited way too long to call her, but I didn't want to seem too eager. But I called her and asked her out for the following Saturday, and we have been together ever since. We got married on June 25th, which was two days ago. We celebrated our 43rd anniversary. The reason that we got married on the 25th was because we wanted to do it a year later—the 27th was by then a Sunday, as well as the fact that I was working in radio at the time. I didn't have any vacation, and our honeymoon would consist of the weekend. So we got married on a Friday and then had the whole weekend. There's another story with the rest of that, but I'll tell you another time.

What I want to talk about, though, is the blessing—the blessing that a friend gave to me and my wife. She was our mutual friend. The blessing of introducing us. Blessings can come in many ways, and I want to talk about that as part of the coffee contemplation. John O'Donohue spoke about the act of sharing blessing with someone else as this opportunity to bless someone and then it returns to you. There's a reciprocal and transformative power in blessing one another. Whenever one person takes another into the care of their heart, he said they have the power to bless.

So on my anniversary, I want to share an idea with you that is a blessing I shared at my daughter's wedding. I was the father of the bride, of course, so I got to tell stories. I told several stories, and then I shared a blessing with them that I want to share with you right now:

I heard that the first time—or actually saw it—on a documentary about a unique vintner, Manfred Krankl. Krankl is just this really cool, innovative guy who sort of changed the wine business—a very Ikigai story that I'll have to share another time. But the film crew was taking a tour of his... (winery)... anyway, the place where they make wine. I noticed something painted on the walls and I liked it. With many things I see or hear, I added it to my thought collection, and it was that: "Bread for a day, wine for a year, wife for a lifetime."

I thought about it at the time and I think about it now. I am lucky enough to live out this life. I have plenty to eat and to celebrate, which is the symbol of the wine—not literal wine—and have been blessed with a wonderful wife now for 43 years.

So now I want to extend that blessing with you. I hope for each of you: bread for your day, celebrations throughout your year, and a love that lasts a lifetime, either in your personal life or in your talents and passions, or if you're really lucky, both.

That's your coffee contemplation.

Quest well.