We say, or sing, the Shehekhiyanu blessing to mark, and thus magnify, the joy inherent in novel experiences. When we welcome something or someone new into our lives, at the start of every yearly Jewish holiday, and even when we have not seen a friend in over a month, we stop, we sing, we celebrate, and we savor.
I have sung the Shehekhiyanu in community to welcome a new tea set into a friends warm kitchen. I sing her as part of my morning ritual to bless the opportunity to begin again in every sunrise, in every breath. I will continue to sing her along the trail of firsts for my little nephews.
The Shehekhiyanu is the inhale, the receiving, and the choice to be in awe. It is the moment when I relax my winter ruminations, and iris to iris with a shade of purple I have never before seen in bloom, I stand still with open palms full of sunshine.
The Shehekhiyanu connects me to the wisdom in the cycles of my own body, the science and magic of renewal that I share with the moon in the sky and the seasons of our home.
The Shehekhiyanu is an invitation to pause and be here now. In this space, we can open to the childlike wonder of continually living fresh. We surrender to gratitude, which, with practice becomes a way of life. Change is the only constant in this great interconnected spiral of existence, and this, we trust, is a blessing.
