In the USA, the feast of Thanksgiving is traditionally celebrated on the fourth Thursday of November. This celebration is not tied to any specific religion and can be celebrated according to one’s taste.
Another traditional celebration is Halloween on October 31st. While some faiths describe this celebration as 3-D: Dark, Demonic, and Dreadful, according to Wikipedia, it is related to the eve of the Western Christian feast of All Hallows’ Day. You be the judge as to whether or not to celebrate.
Everywhere you can find numerous quotes and proverbs on ‘grateful’, and we thankfully extend these to loved ones in appreciation for something done or received. Whatever the case, being grateful should be a habitual daily practice.
Opposed to grateful is ungrateful. Earlier I referred to 3-D as Dark, Demonic, and Dreadful. These are terms we also associate with witchcraft or black magic. If one wishes another evil, we say that person is cursed, jinxed or has bad luck. While these are commonly accepted as a misfortune, did you know that according to Scripture ungratefulness falls in that same category? The Bible compares ungrateful as worse than the sin of witchcraft. We often speak of ungrateful children, who don’t show appreciation to their parents for sacrifices made. Same as for grateful, there are also biblical and secular quotes on ungrateful.
How often do we complain about what we don’t have or even envy others of their possessions, unaware of the journey they traveled to their achievement. Growing up, my parents always taught my siblings and me not to envy others for what they have. Their words to us were: “Don’t envy nobody for what they have because you don’t know if they had to sell their soul to the devil to get whatever they have.” Wow! A strong statement I remember to this day, which I also passed on to my children.
Envy, jealousy, malice, and pride are among the ‘little’ foxes that ruin our spiritual vineyards. The practice of any of these makes one ungrateful and could be worse than the sin of witchcraft! They hinder us from blossoming and enlightenment. We should, therefore, mortify these by practicing gratitude and being appreciative of the little things we often take for granted.
I am grateful for life, my family and loved ones. I have also learned to appreciate and be thankful for adversity that comes on my path. The lessons I’ve learned in my darkest hours served as inspiration to aiming and creating greater things; I might not have known otherwise. Whatever your faith or beliefs, if any, the universal law is: Gratitude is the Best Attitude!
Colorfully,
Tirzah
