Blessed

When I played basketball in college, there was this 30 year old guy with dreadlocks who was on our team. He was a wonderful character full of rich stories...hanging out with Will Smith on his 21st birthday, making 20 Grand a month selling drugs as a young adult, growing up as an African-American in the deep South, his years in prison, etc. When we would exchange the usual greeting, "Hey, what's up?" or "Hey, how are ya?" he would always reply, "I'm blessed, man. I'm blessed." I always thought it was a strange answer, even if it was true. Sometimes it actually bothered me as I wondered if the response was backed by a sincere feeling of being blessed. I wished he would just say that he was having a bad day and be "authentic" like Christians are supposed to be, but I suppose he was grateful for where he was at in life. I think I'm still learning to live with the attitude that I am blessed by my Father and Creator in the midst of a world and systems that seem to broken and confused.

This weekend I was reminded that I am blessed. On Friday night I saw a wonderful concert at the Fillmore featuring David Bazaan of Pedro the Lion and Ben Gibbard of Death Cab for Cutie fame with tickets given to me by a woman who is a volunteer leader at a youth group that we host for a Jesus Dojo during Spring Break every year. My brother, a long time David Bazaan fan, was able to join me.

On Saturday I woke up early and drove to the prison at San Quentin to play some basketball. It was a picturesque day, abnormally sunny and warm. I enjoyed connecting with inmates and the slowly growing relationships I have with them. As we went through security we were joined by some hip looking guys dressed in black carrying a bunch of geaar. It turns out it was Michael Franti and Spearhead, who have a cult following in certain places such as San Francisco. They headline the Power to the Peaceful concert in Golden Gate Park. As we played in the game with the inmates Spearhead played in the background, opening their set with a prayer for unity and reconciliation, themes that have been on my mind lately. A friend remarked that it felt like we should take off our shirts and grab a seat on the lawn with the inmates...just a great day we were able to share with the men we were visiting.

On Sunday I enjoyed a party for a friend of mine who just graduated from college. I chased my daughter around Precita Park down the hill from our house. Friends passed around our little Chase so that Andrea and I could play kickball. A friend of mine at the party was wearing the sweetest Adidas jacket, exactly the kind I would buy if I were to buy a jacket. I commented about my admiration for the jacket. A few minutes later he put it around my shoulders and told me to try it on. He told me to keep it. It was a small thing in some ways, but it was just so odd; I don't really buy new clothes any more, and it was exactly the jacket I had in the back of my head that I would like to have if I could ever find it at a thrift store.

Today I sit on my computer realizing how much work there is to be done with ReIMAGINE and in this City, so many hurdles in so many different ways, but I am grateful for my weekend, reminding me that I am blessed, just like my old friend.