Today, the day after Thanksgiving, has come to be known as Black Friday. It is the beginning of the Christmas shopping season in our country. Retailers have identified it as the day in which their operations become profitable, going from the red to the black. It is a tradition that has been growing since 1924 when The Macy’s Parade began. The Great Recession has left many without jobs and even more of us with few discretionary dollars. Our personal and national wealth and poverty are both keenly felt on Black Friday.
The quality of our lives and the sacredness of Thanksgiving and Christmas do not hinge upon our ability to buy. What we purchase is only an illusion of real prosperity. Abundance is not a bad thing at all, but in order to fully receive it we must be grateful for what we have. Our family, our friends and our traditions are sacred. The things that are not for sale, for which no value can be assigned, are the most important. We can go forward into the shopping season with joy and anticipation when we make this spiritual truth the underpinning for our actions. We will begin to attract real abundance into our lives.
