My Anywhere But Here Blog

Celebrating St. Patrick’s Day, Recalling “The Quiet Blessings We Often Overlook”

There is something about St. Patrick’s Day that gently invites us to pause.

Perhaps it is the color green that appears everywhere — soft, bright, and full of life.

Perhaps it is the idea of luck that seems to float through the day.

But beneath the celebrations and traditions, there is something quieter waiting to be noticed.

The Irish have sayings and blessings that remind us to pause and believe in a greater way of being. Like, for instance, when they wish someone well, they say this one quite often:

May the road rise to meet you,

May the wind be always at your back.

May the sun shine warm upon your face,

And the rains fall soft upon your fields.

And until we meet again,

May God hold you in the palm of His hand.

One of my all-time favorite ones is written on peace, which is what I protect more than anything these days.

I think we forget so often anymore to pass the peace around. We forget that in passing the peace around, blessings can be passed along in peaceful moments.

We shouldn’t hold on to them just for our own selves, but so others can partake in that peace as well.

Kind of like this blog, My Anywhere But Here. I hope with this space that each day someone perhaps says, wow, what a blessing that was — just what I needed today. A blessing and gentle reminder of whatever might be the topic for the day.

Today, it is pondering blessings. I think the Irish have always known their importance. Like this one, my all-time favorite. I have this scored on my heart.

May peace and plenty bless your world

With a joy that long endures,

And may all life’s passing seasons

Bring the best to you and yours.

Blessings come in all forms and all sizes, and sometimes we neglect to notice them.

🌈 Blessings

Not the grand, obvious ones that announce themselves loudly,

but the smaller, quieter blessings that often pass us by unnoticed —

the ones that live in ordinary moments.

• A peaceful morning before the day begins
• A familiar voice on the other end of the phone
• A place that feels like your own corner of the world
• A moment where your mind finally rests

Sometimes we think of blessings as something we must wait for — something that arrives when life finally settles or when everything falls into place.

That isn’t necessarily so. Sometimes blessings are a gift in our most troubling times, when we have lost all sight of hope and peace.

If we try to chase them like an elusive butterfly, hoping they turn up in our net, we may miss them and may be waiting for a very long time — missing that a blessing has already come to us.

• Perhaps blessings were never meant to be something we chase
• Perhaps they are something we learn to see

St. Patrick’s Day is often tied to the idea of luck — finding it, wishing for it, hoping it appears when we need it most.

But there is a quiet difference between luck and blessing.

Luck feels momentary.

Blessings feel rooted.

Luck comes and goes.

Blessings remain, even when life feels uncertain, at unrest, or even just void of peace.

In those moments, faith reminds me that God is present even when life feels unclear. This I believe as a Christian. He reminds me that even when we cannot see the path ahead, we are still being guided. That even in the stillness, and even in the waiting, we are being held with care far greater than our own. Sometimes the blessing is not in the circumstance itself, but in the quiet assurance that we are never walking through it alone. For those who find strength in different faiths or spiritual paths, may this reminder of quiet blessings still bring comfort and peace.

“— a blessing not always seen, but always there.”

And sometimes, what we once called luck was simply a blessing we had not yet recognized.

In my My Anywhere But Here space, I have come to understand that blessings are not always found in perfect days.

They are found in the spaces where we are allowed to breathe again.

In the places where the noise softens.

In the quiet corners where we remember who we are beneath everything else.

Today, perhaps the celebration is not just about luck.

Perhaps it is about noticing.

• Noticing what is already here
• Noticing what has quietly carried us
• Noticing what continues to hold us steady, even now

Because sometimes the greatest blessing is not something new.

It is simply the realization that we were never without them.

__________________________

Susan Thomas

— My Anywhere But Here, where peace is protected and quiet blessings are gently found.