Today the world is experiencing great confusion that has made humanity forget some fundamental values that could save us from great misery – one of these forgotten values is thankfulness.
A sense of entitlement pervades many cultures and prevents them from appreciating the gifts given to them. Sadly, for many, that sense of entitlement has replaced gratefulness.
Some people spend more time pointing to the things they demand and not enough time appreciating their blessings for the things they have. Regrettably, gratefulness and thankfulness have become scarce commodities.
God wants nothing from us but our love, and in return, He provides us with the vast universe and everything in it as our playground to enjoy.
“Consider what a kind Father He is. He bestows His gift before you ask. We were not in the world of existence, but as soon as we were born, we found everything prepared for our needs and comfort without question on our part. He has given us a kind father and compassionate mother, provided for us two springs of salubrious milk, pure atmosphere, refreshing water, gentle breezes and the sun shining above our heads”. -Abdu’l-Baha
I am incredibly grateful for the gifts of the Baha’i writings that guide me throughout my life.
All religious guidance sent for our benefit can help us. In return, we must try to know God and show our gratitude. Understanding God and our relation to Him is complex, and we will never get to know Him due to our limited ability to comprehend Him. But luckily, a recent personal experience helped me see what my relationship with my Creator could be and reinforced my gratefulness for His gift of life.
I have a beautiful garden, my prize material possession, with a wide variety of flowers and fruit trees. Flowers attract birds and insects, and among them are a few families of hummingbirds who enjoy the flowers I have planted and the feeders that I have put out for them. I felt happy to see that they enjoyed the feeders, but the fact that they fought over them saddened me. I wished they would stop fighting, start sharing and live peacefully together in this beautiful garden.
The hummingbirds liked the feeders so much that they decided not to migrate. Instead, they have stayed the winter with me for the past few years. I kept the feeders full for the whole winter since there were no flowers or other food sources. One winter was extremely cold, and the temperature went below zero. The feeders would freeze at night, so I had to defrost them every morning and put them out again. One day, as I was putting out a feeder for these tiny birds and watching their happiness, I realized they would die if I did not feed them.
How I wished that they knew how much I loved them. They didn’t realize that their life was in my hands — or that I made sure they were provided for — because of my love for them. Nobody asked me to do that. At that moment, it dawned on me that this is what God wishes for us: recognition and gratitude in return for His gifts.
Unlike the hummingbirds who have no idea of the gifts given to them, I hope we recognize the Creator’s gift of life and His love for us. He has made provisions for all our needs. All we have to do is to acknowledge them and be grateful for them.
"Badi Shams is a Baha’i and a mystic at heart. His field of interest is economics; he has published "Economics of the Future" and "Economics of the Future Begins Today" and recently written the books "Random Thoughts of a Mystic Economist" and "Towards a New Spiritual Economic System." You can find Badi's website at badishams.net called "Baha'i Inspired Economics" He is retired from the education system."
You can read more articles on our interfaith blog, Spiritually Speaking at https://www.timescolonist.com/blogs/spiritually-speaking
* This article was published in the Victoria Times Colonist on Saturday, April 15th 2023
