And Serendipity
We recently celebrated Thanksgiving here in the US. The concept of setting aside a day to give thanks is not foreign to me. As a child raised in the traditions of the Nigerian Catholic Church, the annual Thanksgiving Mass and Bazaar following, was always one to look forward to, no matter what church parish you belonged to or attended. The more affluent the parish and parishioners, the grander the celebrations. And if you know about cultural leanings and Nigerians, it’s that we love to party (full stop).
Anyways this year I chanced upon an argument (online nevertheless) about why people should not celebrate Thanksgiving. Never one to attempt to partake in any discourse uninformed, I went reading and found the full Proclamation for observing this currently contested holiday.
This part caught my eyes,
“a day of public thanksgiving and prayer to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many signal favors of Almighty God…”
Although the conversation centered on other sections of the document and how the peaceful government was not peaceably obtained, I kept coming back to the words above. That the country(ies) we now dwell in have evolved bears no contention, in my mind. The direction of the evolution may be what many now bicker about. But that massive change has occurred is not in question. There is no public prayer of thanksgiving that I am aware of, rather it’s more feasting than one needs, more like something of virtue turned to vice. Other aspects of the holiday also tend to make moot the original grateful hearts intent.
Back to the part of the proclamation that signaled this month’s reflection, the many signal favors to me is a reminder of the unseen and sometimes unsung part of success. In our societies today, the quickness to attribute ‘luck’ to bad events, occurrences and fortunes does not hold when it comes to the good things. This particular evolution of societal evolution had led to such terms as ‘self-made’ man/people. Anytime I hear this phrase, or others like it, I smile wryly.
As a person versed in DNA studies and how this double-stranded biological entity contributes to our being, I always think, even the fusing of a sperm with an ovum does not happen on its own. Help, whether human or artificial, and consent is always required (otherwise you would be committing a crime). And even then, no prior deterministic studies can tell what biological sex the child formed from this zygotic fusion would be and what they would become. Talk about many signal favors!
I am grateful and thankful that I and the business are here today. I am the recipient of very many signal favors and I acknowledge this with awe. Who knows where next Thanksgiving would find me, or you, my readers? The newsletter may take a different direction next year but for all that we have been able to bring you, I am thankful.
For all those who referred and doubly-referred clients to us, I am thankful. For all the repeat clients who return because our work is great, I am thankful. For all those who chose not to work with us, I am thankful because it reminds me never to take anything for granted.
What are you thankful for? What are some of the many signal favors you have seen in your work and in your life? Please share if you want as I would love to read about them and marvel at your good outcomes with you.
Resources and Readings
While I have no specific Thanksgiving books on my bookshelf to recommend, I always love a good redemption story (memoir or fiction). Some of the redemption stories I have read that never fail to make me pause and reflect on my many signal favors are listed below.
- Man’s Search for Meaning by Dr Viktor Frankl
- The Choice by Dr Edith Eger
- There Was a Country by Chinua Achebe
- Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers
What other books do you have that cause you to reflect and give thanks for all that you are and have?
“Reflect on your present blessings, of which every man has plenty; not on your past misfortunes, of which all men have some.”
