“Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow.”- Melody Beattie

Thanksgiving often asks us to pause, reflect, and take inventory of our lives. Yet for many, this season carries a mix of warmth and wounds. Gratitude doesn’t always come wrapped in ease and grace often requires more courage than we expect.

In my years as a psychotherapist, and through my own story of loss and rebuilding, I’ve learned something essential: gratitude is not the denial of hardship. It is the recognition that even in the midst of challenge, we still can see, feel, learn, and grow.
That ability is one of the greatest gifts of being human.

Grace begins in the same place. It invites us to be honest about what’s heavy, while still choosing to show up with open eyes and an open heart. Grace is what softens the edges of our imperfections. It’s what lets us offer others the same compassion we long to receive.

This Thanksgiving, I encourage you to practice gratitude not as a performance, but as a gentle noticing:

• Notice one thing today that brings you even a small sense of peace.
  

• Notice a person whose presence has made your life steadier.
  

• Notice how far you’ve come, even if the road was uneven.
  
  

Gratitude is not about pretending everything is perfect. It’s about strengthening the part of us that remembers the good, even when life feels complicated. And grace is what keeps us connected to one another through it all.

Wherever you find yourself this season, may you give and receive both generously.

With warmth,
Sally A. Raymond