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August 28, 2007

is it the thought that counts?

Yesterday was apparently the mid-way marker for the Hungry Ghost month. This is the time where most who observe the 'celebration' would offer food, gifts, money to the spirits in the netherworld. In return, the people offering expect no accidents to befall them.
Going by what people do offer - a client yesterday catered food, I wonder if the phrase "it's the thought that counts' apply in this instance. Anyone who has died, never gets to come back the next day to tell us what it's like to be a wandering spirit. Hence, we never would know.
I was at another coffee shop, not a huge one, a 3 unit type in the heartlands, and they were closed for business because it was their prayer day - there was this huge table loaded with food and an overgrown suckling pig! That table spread wiped out the catered food at my client's site.
If it's not the thought that counts, then my client is definately in arrears!
The best part about this entire month is that it brings colleagues together. Believers and non-believers standing around whilst the offering of money is lit up is a comforting sight - and of course, the feast that follows is also one that all of us look forward to - free food.....
Yesterday, tension melted away with the heat from the campfire of paper.
At the end of it all, I don't think the quantity of offering matters - because it's still peace of mind that's important. We remember those who passed on, and to me, this festival is symbolic of that and the power of what we cannot see, what we do not know and it's basically a reminder that we are not the only ones who are responsible for our destiny. So perhaps it IS the thought that counts - because perhaps that's why this practice started in the first place.

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