The Blessing and The Curse | A Parable on Investing in the Future

The word blessing has its origins in Old English. The original meaning is to mark or consecrate with blood. Later on, it became associated with bliss. The opposite of the word bless is to curse, which is to wish evil or to excommunicate. The former is associated with familial ties, while the latter speaks to the breaking of those very same ties.

In the Biblical narrative, curses actively reverse all the blessings that were once bestowed. What we value most reveals itself in what we spend your physical blessings on. A true blessing has always been to be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth. It can only be done through our works and not simply vis-a-vis the blessings we have had the privilege to receive.

In economics, the resource curse theory proposes that an abundance of natural resources raises the probability, frequency and intensity of conflict. Stabilising and destabilising mechanisms are simultaneously at play in countries that have an abundance of natural resources.

Anyone who has ever worked with the land–be it to grow or extract something of value–knows that when we have to till the soil, we have to break through the hard surface layer, remove rocks and even old roots before we can either find our fortune or create a new one.

This is a natural part of the process. This is how we clear the path for the new destiny that we are already building. We cannot build something new with plants that have root rot or with flowers that have withered and died. We need seeds. It is in the tiny seed that the future awaits.

What old roots do we get tangled with as we create new lives? Perhaps we need to acknowledge that we need help. But what exactly do we need help with? The answer is not always clear, especially when we’re dealing with business. We are always always in the process of planning a future that is yet to be.

What we need help with, then, is creating this very future. Imagine if someone wished you harm instead of blessing you as you went forth on your journey. This may lead you to think that you are cursed. But the opposite of a curse is a blessing. It is to consecrate with blood.

It is to work hard and make an investment… and stay true to it till the very end.