The blessings in the Beatitudes are primarily future blessings, but there can be an anticipation of the blessings in the present. At first reading, some Beatitudes may seem to describe circumstances that you would like to avoid at all costs. Read them slowly. Stay with each one for a while. Let yourself get a sense of the paradox involved in each one. Perhaps you have had an experience of a deeper and more authentic life, a blessing, when

you were poor – you knew your need of God
you mourned – could feel for others
you were meek – self-controlled, neither overly aggressive nor a doormat.
you hungered and thirsted for some cause
you were merciful rather than vengeful
you were pure in heart – a person of integrity, whose actions and intentions correspond
you were a peacemaker
you were persecuted because you stood for something.