THIS MINDFUL MOMENT: A RETURN TO THANKS

The season settles in slowly

the way dusk settles over a neighborhood

soft at first

then everywhere at once.

There is a quiet weight to this time of year

a story behind the story

a mixture of warmth and ache

woven together like threads we can feel

even if we cannot name them.

We stand inside this season with all of it

the complicated history

the tenderness

the gathering

the remembering

the longing for something gentle.

And still

year after year

the earth reminds us how to move through it.

The trees let go without hesitation.

The wind carries what needs carrying.

The sky opens wide enough to hold all our contradictions.

I think about how we gather

how we sit at tables

how we pass food from hand to hand

as though sharing warmth could mend the things we do not speak of.

And maybe in some small way

it does.

There is something to be said for slowing down

for noticing the little pieces of our lives

the ones that wait patiently at the edges

hoping to be seen.

The way the morning light touches the floorboards.

The way someone laughs from their belly.

The way a pet presses its body against yours

as if to say,

I am here.

The way strangers hold doors

or offer a nod

or let you merge into traffic

as if kindness comes as naturally as breath.

These are the things that ask for our gratitude.

Not loudly.

Not even clearly.

Just softly

quietly

steadily

like leaves resting on the forest floor.

And so maybe this season becomes a space

a gentle space

a space where we gather what has been good

and set it in our hands

the way we once gathered stones from a riverbed

just to feel their weight.

A PRACTICE OF THANKS

When you find a still corner in your day

let yourself sit.

Let yourself breathe.

Let yourself listen the way you once listened

to a sleeping child

or a distant storm

or the rustling of trees outside your window.

Think of someone whose presence shaped you.

Someone who offered something steady

something kind

something that asked for nothing in return.

A teacher

a friend

a neighbor

a sibling

a part of yourself

you forgot to honor.

Write to them.

A letter of thanks.

A letter of remembering.

A letter that carries your voice

your breath

your softness.

Place it in an envelope if it feels right

let it travel through the world

as quietly as gratitude travels

from one heart to another.

Let this be our way of giving thanks.

A way that honors the earth

the history

the tenderness

and the life we are living now.