I traveled some in college to not so tourist friendly places and then worked as an expat in IT and I feel so fortunate for the same takeaways I am bitter and cynical as an American but defend the other at home and abroad because it made me keenly aware of our shared perspective It always makes me often wallow in guilt it took a privileged family to kick that off and let me learn it far away and not build up such empathy at home.

When I read shared experiences like ours on the Internet it reminds me of what I think is the one true value of this tool for humanity I wish it was used for that the majority of the time by most people but oh well!

> I prefer 'blessed', and not in the corny #blessed way, to describe my condition. To me, I was given much because so much is expected of me by God, by universe and by my higher self.

How do you avoid this leading to a feeling that you, and anyone else "blessed", is more important that others? Should we really assume that the condition of one's life is an indicator of both the existence of a higher power and of that person's relative importance to it?

Not OP, but I’ll take a crack at responding.

The feeling of being “blessed” is the recognition that a substantial component of your current fortune is due to circumstances outside your control, whether due to a higher power, support from family/friends, raw luck, or the kindness of strangers. The proper and typical response to this feeling is one of gratitude, not self-importance, and the desired response is to contribute in various ways to the blessing of others (i.e. pay it forward).

It’s only when we lose the salience of that “blessed” feeling, and we start to take our circumstances for granted, that leads to our feeling of greater importance than others. It’s a slippery position no doubt, but the alternative feelings are: guilt (that I’ve received unfairly), anxiety (that what I’ve received may not be enough), jealousy (that what I’ve received is not enough), or pride/self-satisfaction (that I’m primarily responsible for what I’ve received). And honestly, it’s pride that is the true gateway to that feeling of self-importance you describe.

What you're describing is better captured by the word "lucky". "Blessed" is lucky plus an acknowledgement that this luck was granted to you on purpose by a higher power, so you deserved it in a karmic way (though not operational way). It really irks me too.

"Blessed" does not necessarily imply karmic nor deserving. Many Christians will say they've been blessed and recognize they don't deserve it.

Someone/something divine must do the blessing. This is in the definition of bless, so how do you conclude it doesn't? To gain the favor of a god/goddess means the divine creature believes you deserve it, even if you don't think it to be so.

Christianity explicitly states pride is a sin. They’re not supposed to pray for God’s favour in this life but to be given the strength to be good so they can be allowed salvation in the next life.

I never said anything about Christianity or prayer.

I never said you did, I just used it as a counter to what you said: that blessing is about getting favour in this world from a divine being. It helps that it's also the world's largest religion.

In fact, Christianity explicitly glorifies suffering and martyrdom so the Christian God is hardly giving good things to good people...

A blessing isn't necessarily given to a good person or by a Christian god, nor does the person even need to know they have a blessing.

Grace literally means to bless without deserving. I think you're being too rigid in your thought process.

We are literally talking about the internationally accepted definition of a word. Your own personal definition is not portable.

Christianity is an international religion thousands of years old. It's not a personal definition.

And none of it was originally written in English. The English words were chosen because of their definitions, so that it made sense. I’m not sure what you mean by this.

In other news, I come from a family of Christian pastors and I’m quite informed on what words mean in the Bible and which ones actually matter. You are mixing several ones into a single word that has a singular definition that is well defined.

> "Blessed" is lucky plus an acknowledgement that this luck was granted to you on purpose by a higher power, so you deserved it in a karmic way

The karmic component would make it a reward. So much as you are blessed with resources, you are then able to make sacrifices that aren't necessarily enviable.

I definitely understand it from the angle you're describing, though similar to a sibling comment I'd see that as "lucky" more than "blessed".

The OP comment was removed ,but if I remember right it was specifically calling out their life circumstances as being given by god specifically, and a view that this is both a purposeful prioritization of that person and a responsibility to use gods blessings.

I wouldn't even argue directly against that view, mainly because I strongly believe that everyone has an absolute right to freedom of religion. I would have been curious to hear more though, because at least how I remember the OP describing it there was more to it than a recognition of the circumstances they were born into and how it compares to others less fortunate.

I am an average, flawed and vulnerable human. I am aware everything I value and love including my life can be taken from me.

Should that happen, I don't consider that a special punishment from God any more than my current condition is a special gift.

I'm here for a blink and then I am gone for the rest of long time. This brief opportunity to improve things and make earthly living less hellish for those who come after me is the blessing that I am thankful for.

Hope that helps.