“Count your blessings, name them one by one, Count your blessings, see what God hath done.”
— Johnson Oatman Jr. (1856)
There is an endemic disease bedeviling humanity. It is the penchant to expect blessings, goodies of life, and even to flaunt them. Society looks down upon those perceived as not having been so well blessed, and having nothing of theirs to show off. So, there has arisen a creed of women and men who make ‘counting blessings’ a hobby. Motivational speakers/teachers have endorsed it!
The quote above, drawn from a cherished hymn, has echoed across generations as a call to gratitude. It encourages reflection on the good which one has received and serves as a gentle reminder not to overlook life’s provisions. Yet, while its intention is noble, its common interpretation has gradually become limited and vain. To “count your blessings” has, for many, become an exercise in listing what one has gained/received; starting with good health, warmth of family , golden opportunities of existence, material comfort, or moments of favor. Gratitude, in this sense, is seen as a virtue in itself, almost an end point of spiritual awareness. But if we pause and look deeper into the workings of life and the laws governing Creation, we would begin to see that this understanding, though comforting, does not go far enough. It shackles spiritual vigour!
Gratitude, on its own, is not the highest virtue. It is only a beginning; a recognition, not a fulfillment. It awakens awareness, but it does not complete the cycle of life’s movement. When gratitude becomes a resting place rather than a starting point, it can quietly lead to stagnation. One becomes content with receiving, with acknowledging, with appreciating and expressing _thanks_ . Yet, without transforming that awareness into outward action the experience vanishes into nothingness. A bag full of money means nothing, until it translates to gain , through investment, for owner and others.
The phrase “count your blessings” should therefore not become a vocation, as though life’s purpose were merely to observe and record what one has been given. Life is not designed for passive appreciation; it is structured for active participation. The deeper question is not, “What have I received?” but rather, “What have I allowed to flow through me to others?”
A blessing, in its true sense, is not something to be stored or admired. It is something to be expressed (shared). It finds its meaning not in possession, but in transmission. Kindness extended, help rendered, truth spoken with clarity, fairness upheld, burdens eased, and so forth, are the living forms of blessing. They move outward, touch lives, and continue their journey in ways unseen.
Even in this period of Easter, this truth becomes especially relevant. Easter is often approached as a remembrance of the profound acts associated with Jesus Christ: acts of sacrifice, endurance, and victory over ‘death!’ Yet many cling to these events without fully understanding their deeper call. We express yearly admiration, gratitude and commemorate the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, but always stop short of availing ourselves of the inner transformation called forth by Christ’s mission. He did not just come to die; but came to bring the liberating Word of Truth, through which spiritual redemption could be attained.
Easter is not meant to anchor us in admiration of past Divine acts. It is meant to awaken us. It calls for an inner stirring and that sacred realization that life (our own lives) must now be lived differently. The example set by the Lord Christ is not for emotional and religious reverence alone, but for each person’s conscious imitation in principle: to give, to uplift, to act with purpose and clarity within the laws of Creation. It is in this way that each person may also resurrect (spiritually speaking) with Easter. It is a spiritual festival or revival which calls attention to deep expression of gratitude to The Most High Creator, and at the same time a call in determined vow to express gratitude in all thoughts, words and deeds, towards fellow human beings and creatures. In other words, it is to awaken spiritually and become so active as to align one’s thoughts, words, and deeds with what uplifts and strengthens others. This is where the meaning of blessing shifts from something received to something generated and expressed. This opens one to the eternal streams of the law of reciprocity, which creates abundance.
According to the adamantine laws of creation, abundance comes not from what we have taken, but from what we have given (sown) into creation.
Thus, the phrase “count your blessings” must be refined. Let it not bind us to passive reflection. Let it instead lead us to conscious examination: Who is better because I lived today? Where did I bring clarity instead of confusion? Did I add peace, or did I add weight to the lives around me? These are the true measures of blessing.
In the end, life in Creation does not reward accumulation; it responds to movement. What is given in sincerity returns in strength; multiplied. What is held back fades in significance. The one who becomes a source of blessing enters into the living current of Easter (renewal), while the one who merely observes remains at its edge.
Therefore, let us move beyond the familiar comfort of counting blessings as possessions. Let us begin to count them as actions; in the form of living expressions that reach beyond ourselves. The supreme value of Easter is ultimately in spreading one’s awakened spiritual power to bring blessings to others, even if only in sharing words of spiritual enlightenment. A candle that lights another candle does not diminish its illumination thereby.
*Barrister Unegbe writes from Lagos
