Black Friday is a retail concept. It is the busiest shopping day in the U.S., I guess because people have the day off and are starting to think of Christmas. In order to capitalize on that thought, retailers offer huge sales as a way of encouraging spending. It's how they put their own business accounts "in the black".
I goggled Black Friday Pictures and got over 6 million hits. The first few I looked at, including the one with this post, were all photos of frenzied crowds. People were lined up, shoulder to shoulder, spending money, waiting to spend money, or fighting over spending money- sometimes all three at once. There are already accounts of minor injuries from pepper spray used by a shopper looking for an advantage, gunfire exchanges in a mall, and injuries from a fist fight in a department store. And all that before the stores even really officially opened this morning! Wow! To me, that brings a whole new meaning to the title "Black Friday".
Nina Ashby in, Simply Color Therapy, writes that "black is comprised of all colors in an unmanifest state which means they are there but they haven't yet been brought into being". She goes on to explain that if you stand outside in the country on a moonless night, the grass under your feet is still green, the flowers are the same blue, purple or yellow they were in the daylight, and rocks are grey or brown or shades of colors. But without light, you really can't see that. Everything is hidden a bit even though the potential is still there. And, I guess, most people's trust and knowing allows them to accept that.
We tend to consider the color black as being evil, negative, or absorptive. But that's really not fair. As Ashby writes, it's more about "mysterious potential" and just because we can't see clearly doesn't mean there isn't lots of potential there.
So I guess in all that sea of frantic people and money exchange, price tags and pepper spray, there probably is some mysterious potential. No doubt some people will find that. You'd still never get me out in that mess!!At least, not without a healthy dose of Bach Flowers!
First, I'd want to take Aspen for protection. It can shield you from the negative energy of others. It's helpful for sensitive people that might feel the "black thoughts' of some of those bargain hunters without really knowing where the feeling is coming from.
If I was a retailer, particularly in places where pepper spray and guns are legal, I'd want to set up an aromatherapy pot of Cherry Plum! Cherry Plum can help people that feel they are on the verge of a breakdown and are afraid they may loose control. Maybe if all those people could inhale a good strong dose they could find a more rational, calm, way to hunt for the mysterious potential.
I'd want to keep some doses of Gorse on hand. I'm not sure if I think this should be handed out before people go into a store, or when they leave- probably both. Gorse can help when you feel there is no light at the end of the tunnel. Gorse could help restore your trust that there really is color in that blackest of days.
Holly definitely should be in ample supply. It's helpful that it's a flower used during the Christmas season. Holly as a Bach Flower could help temper the competitive, jealous feeling of shoppers who think someone else found the mysterious potential and snapped it up already.
Without question, before stepping foot in any retail place today, I would have to take the Bach Flower Impatiens. It can help you relax and cope calmly with that long line-up, those slowly walking people and those that are digging way into the bins for the mysterious potential.
I think a lot of those shoppers must be Oak types. Oak is the Bach Flower for people that are brave, strong and reliable. They have enormous endurance, persistence and patience and can stand up to a great deal of stress. I figure for sure, the people that camp out overnight to be at the front of the line must be Oak people. But when Oak types fall, they crash to the ground. And if anything is going to zap the energy of the Oak type, it just might be the pressure of black Friday bargains. Oak could help them recognize the need to take time off to relax and look after themselves- at least stop for a hot chocolate in the food court.
I can't imagine being a clerk in retail today. So for all those wage earners, I'd offer a shot of the Bach Flower Star of Bethlehem. It's indicated for the after effects of shock or a trauma. To me, being out in the retail world, must definitely qualify as shock and trauma today. I imagine if you've watched hundreds of people struggle to find mysterious potential, you might be finding it hard to see the light in the world yourself by the end of the day.
Maybe the mysterious potential that we struggle to find on Black Friday is actually found within. Maybe it's the ability to withdraw yourself from the masses and find a peaceful connection with something far removed from the physical world of retail? And anyway, is anyone home cooking the turkey??
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