Let Gratitude Gather Us

Thanksgiving is upon us, and as we prepare the table and tidy our homes for family and friends, it’s a good time to pause and reflect on all we have to be thankful for.

Maybe your gratitude is inspired by the changing leaves, the laughter of loved ones, or a quiet moment alone listening to the water flow. Whatever inspires it, take a moment to share your blessings with those around you this Thanksgiving.

Consider starting a tradition of reading favorite poems or quotes aloud, celebrating the beauty, love, and connection that gratitude brings into our lives.

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When Giving Is All We Have

By Alberto Ríos

We give because someone gave to us.

We give because nobody gave to us.

We give because giving has changed us.

We give because giving could have changed us.

We have been better for it,

We have been wounded by it—

Giving has many faces: It is loud and quiet,

Big, though small, diamond in wood-nails.

Its story is old, the plot worn and the pages too,

But we read this book, anyway, over and again:

Giving is, first and every time, hand to hand,

Mine to yours, yours to mine.

You gave me blue and I gave you yellow.

Together we are simple green. You gave me

What you did not have, and I gave you

What I had to give—together, we made

Something greater from the difference.