Gratitude requires a pause
A reprieve from our habitual concerns
About ourselves, our family, our tribe
Our team, our diagnosis
Our beloved’s diagnosis.
Our focus needs to soften
To allow gratitude
It’s not hard—it’s just different.
It’s noticing the feathering of the
Branches of the bare trees against
An opulent sky and day’s beginning
And ending;
The pleasure of breath as it enters patient lungs;
And we feel the blanket of peace
Heavy on our resting bodies
Or the tears that arrive unbidden
From the sorrow of what we’ve missed; of the harms we’ve done
As much as from the joy of what we’ve lived and learned
How we have loved and been loved.
For the month of November, I write a poem a day to support the efforts of the Center for New Americans. Please support my efforts by contributing to this wonderful organization via my pledge page.
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I am grateful for the gift of your poem.
I am also grateful for your poem. It’s a beautiful reminder of how appreciating the beauty that surrounds us, and focusing on what we’re grateful for improves our lives and the lives of the people around us. Positivity begets positivity.