For reflection purposes this week I’ve been thinking about what Denton says at the end of the episode when he tells the young gunslinger, “We’ve both been blessed.” What does he mean by that, and what are the implications? Where might I have been similarly blessed and not recognized it?
I’ve long believed that those painful experiences we’ve had in our lives have the potential to become transformational tools for us, and reference points for us in our exchanges with others. This is not to suggest we should go out in search of painful experiences in order to later benefit from them. In many ways, that would be sadistic. Nor do I want to suggest to someone else in the midst of a painful experience that it’s a gift. But I do want to look back at those experiences I’ve had in my life that were difficult for what they’ve provided me.
I think this is among the healthiest things we can do for ourselves in the present.
Back to Denton’s comment. It seems he has the life experience to recognize that being shot in the hand, and therefore no longer being thought of as fast with a gun, has freed him to live the life he wants to live. No longer will young gunmen be seeking him out to further their own reputations, and no longer will he have to hide inside a bottle to prevent it.
And Denton has the perspective to realize the young gunslinger, similarly injured, will not have to experience what he himself experienced – others gunning for him, the pressure that comes with that, the reaction of having killed others in order to live, and then having to drown it all in alcohol. The young gunslinger can move forward at a young age without all of these things to pull him down.
How are we all similarly blessed?
Kind Living 
We all have limitations placed upon us and true, sometimes what seems like a gift is really a limitation, e.g., the ability to be the fastest gun in the West. All it drew was adversity. But once the adversity was embraced, it became a teacher and an ally. We all have those things we must suffer. Sometimes it is difficult to know what is causing the suffering. But once that is identified, that thing becomes our healer, or rather we understand how to heal ourselves.
I think what we are most blessed by is the ability to reflect, and then let go. Our greatest blessing is that there is a vast universe out there and we are only a part of the plan. The more we let ourselves remain open to that greater destiny the more we are able to serve ourselves and others completely.