"A blessing is a 'yes' to goodness, to grace, to an ultimately friendly universe. Blessings connect us to the wellspring of our very being," writes William John Fitzgerald, a "retired" pastor and author of eight previous books including 100 Cranes. This wonder-filled book helps us see what the Celts used to call "the long hand of God at work" in the midst of our busy lives.

Taking cues from the Native American tradition of "walking a blessing path," Fitzgerald shows how important it is to be constantly on the lookout for evidence of God's grace and tricky surprises. Of course, the author's stout-hearted Christian faith is not one-sided: "The paradox of blessings is that we can appreciate them more because there are also curses. The nightly news reminds us of that." No yin without yang. That's the way it is. No light without darkness. Fitzgerald celebrates darkness as a fertile place for those with eyes to see.

With great exuberance and wit and tons of stories, the author explores the blessings of creativity, space and place, pilgrimage, expectations, transformation, and the Beatitudes. Along the way there are poems, prayers, and blessings for those ahead of us in cars at a stoplight, the kids playing Little League, e-mail, booting up the computer, using cell phones, surfing the Internet, and much more.

Fitzgerald does a marvelous job modeling what it means to walk the blessing path. He also demonstrates the spiritual practice of reverence in an impressive way.

Try a Spiritual Practice on Gratitude