With Thanksgiving days away (I still have’t gotten my turkey!) gratitude is the theme of the season. Not that it isn’t at other times of the year, but Thanksgiving is the word’s epitome. My yoga teacher sent a gratitude email called: 21 Days of Gratitude (check it out) with award winning photography and mentors from around the world sharing their thoughts on the subject. This is my favorite holiday, family and friends sharing a meal for no other reason than being grateful. It is humbling and invigorating.

My house is clean, food shopping underway for days, the good china makes its infrequent debut, sights and smells of festivity blossom. The chill outside makes the warmth of hearth (stove and oven) that much cozier. And I am grateful for so much…we forget as we maneuver the stress and strain of daily life what we take for granted – food, shelter, a working body, love, books, heat, cars, the list is large.

As we move closer to this holiday, I wish the world peace, the homeless shelter, the hungry food. I wish families love, trees water, schools a sense of safety.

When we move toward appreciation and away from complaint (or at least use the complaints to act) we make a positive and proactive chink in the armor that holds us back. And we open the door, just a crack, to receive some light.