Freedom from care and anxiety of mind is a blessing which I apprehend such people enjoy in higher perfection than most others and is of the utmost consequence.
But it wasn't until I graduated from Texas A & M University and joined the United States Air Force flying C-130's all around the globe that I truly appreciated the blessings of freedom.
Freedom is not a gift nor does it simply exist for us to have but rather it is a sacred duty and its blessed yield of hope is born from none other than the blood of the innocent.
Those who expect to reap the blessings of freedom must like men undergo the fatigue of supporting it.
If we eat any food or drink any beverage we must recite a blessing over them before and after.
Neither does man have gills for living in a water environment yet it is not sinful to explore the depths of the oceans in search of food or other blessings.
From the simple stringing together of lemon garlands for the goddess Durga to dividing the prasadam or blessed foods for the children first I came to associate food not only with feminity but also with purity and divinity.
No matter how famous and established they were or however blessed they were with great songs or long careers if they lived alone they lived alone. That's not the way I wanted to live prior to the tour or after.
It was a mixed blessing to have famous parents. It was tough to go to auditions and be bad since I couldn't be anonymous.
Jews have deep respect for the Queen and the royal family. We say a prayer for them every Sabbath in synagogue. We recite a special blessing on seeing the Queen.
I am blessed to have so many great things in my life - family friends and God. All will be in my thoughts daily.
I have learned that track doesn't define me. My faith defines me. I'm running because I have been blessed with a gift.
It strikes me as odd that the free exercise of religious faith is sometimes treated as a problem something America is stuck with instead of blessed with.
My parents shared not only an improbable love they shared an abiding faith in the possibilities of this nation. They would give me an African name Barack or blessed believing that in a tolerant America your name is no barrier to success.
Man I just feel blessed... I was in a situation where the only way I could come out of it was by putting my faith in God. No matter how good my lawyers were no matter how much celebrity I had everything was just stacked up against me.
When you focus on being a blessing God makes sure that you are always blessed in abundance.
We failed but in the good providence of God apparent failure often proves a blessing.
I have been blessed in many ways and one of those is to have been born in Africa for me a great treasure house of stories. I have been researching it since my infancy reading about it talking to men and women who have spent their lives in this land living it as I have and loving it as I do. I write almost entirely from my own experience.
Experience teaches us that we do not always receive the blessings we ask for in prayer.
I absolutely believe in the power of tithing and giving back. My own experience about all the blessings I've had in my life is that the more I give away the more that comes back. That is the way life works and that is the way energy works.
My life path has been a blessing and a great learning experience. Skateboarding is my passion and I don't see that changing. When I'm not skating I love to surf. I'm open to the new experiences and opportunities.
I want people to think of me as a nice person. I really am so blessed. All of this has been a great experience and I thank the American public so much for putting me in this position. I appreciate every second of it.
A few years' experience will convince us that those things which at the time they happened we regarded as our greatest misfortunes have proved our greatest blessings.
If money education and honesty will not bring to me as much privilege as much equality as they bring to any American citizen then they are to me a curse and not a blessing.