The daily round has been crammed with life, guests, listening, and activity of late. How lovely it is to have a day open before me without a list or template circumscribing and defining its hours…just a blank page to fill as I am called…I think I’ll take the pups and my camera out to the trail and return home to make that cup of hot cocoa I’m always promising myself.
Tomorrow will be filled with preparations for our Thanksgiving weekend, and that, too, cheers my heart. There are few better feelings, for me, than the anticipation of joyful community with people and 4-leggeds I love.
And so, I raise my cup of cocoa and toast us all: May we be blessed with a peaceful and joyful celebration of all that inspires deep gratitude in our lives. May our patience and humor abound.
May we forgive ourselves of all those errors and lapses in love that arise from our humanity and so more generously forgive others theirs.
May we ease expectations and judgments of ourselves and others so as to better perceive the blessings waiting for us right now, right here, and may we be present to the lessons they have come to teach us about the ways we are infinitely loved.
May our willingness to isolate and name these gifts allow us to cherish them more deeply and share them more profoundly.
Dona nobis pacem.
Gratitude is something of which none of us can give too much. For on the smiles, the thanks we give, our little gestures of appreciation, our neighbors build their philosophy of life. ~ A.J. Cronin
Gratitude is so close to the bone of life, pure and true, that it instantly stops the rational mind, and all its planning and plotting. That kind of letting go is fiercely threatening. I mean, where might such gratitude end? ~ Regina Sara Ryan
Gratitude is the most passionate transformative force in the cosmos. When we offer thanks to God or to another human being, gratitude gifts us with renewal, reflection, and reconnection. ~ Sarah Ban Breathnach
Darkness deserves gratitude. It is the alleluia point at which we learn to understand that all growth does not take place in the sunlight. ~ Joan Chittister
Can you see the holiness in those things you take for granted–a paved road or a washing machine? If you concentrate on finding what is good in every situation, you will discover that your life will suddenly be filled with gratitude, a feeling that nurtures the soul. ~ Rabbi Harold Kushner
If the only prayer you say in your life is thank you, that would suffice. ~ Meister Eckhart
Happiness cannot be traveled to, owned, earned, worn or consumed. Happiness is the spiritual experience of living every minute with love, grace and gratitude. ~ Denis Waitley
You have been given a gift of 86,400 seconds today. Have you used one to say “thank you?” ~ William A. Ward
Gratitude is riches. Complaint is poverty. ~ Doris Day
Gratitude is twofold – love coming to visit us and love running out to greet a welcome guest. ~ Henry Van Dyke
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THE DAILY ROUND 
A happy Thanksgiving to you and yours, Kitty. It’s a wonderful holiday that I first encountered when I visited America, and still have beautiful memories of its celebration and the message.
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Thank you, Shimon! Yes, it is lovely to have an annual day dedicated to gratitude, if only to remind us that every day abounds in reasons to be thankful. 🙂
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A beautiful and peace-filled reminder life’s blessings, in all their guises. Thank you, Kitty, for always being such an inspiration. A blessed holiday for you and your family.
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Thank you, Lynn, and peace, joy, and blessings to you and yours as well. be well, safe, and merry. (Lifting cocoa in the general direction of PA. 🙂 )
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Oh…..what a beautiful toast, I toast you and yours back and wish you health and happiness.
Such a wonderful reminder to show gratitude, and we all have so much to be grateful for.
I LOVED that pic of your pups in the snow flurry, that is magical in itself. Happy Thanksgiving Kitty, I wish you all you wish for yourself.xxxxx
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P.s…..whenever I read your posts I’m always so happy that I found you. A little treasure you are.xxx
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Oh, Dina, I’m glad we found each other, and treasure your visits here as much as I value traveling in spirit with you on all your merry adventures! Thank you for your beautiful good wishes and know that I’m grateful for the gift of Miss Snowbird in my life! 🙂
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Much gratitude for having stumbled onto The Daily Round so long ago!! It all started with my asking you about the soup you had just written a post about. It was yummy by the way 🙂 It has been so wonderful to traipse along on your journey’s with you, viewing your photos of such great beauty and feeling a part of the family. Of course being a cat person I love your tales about them and the dogs of course as well and all of natures glory. It is amazing to realize the friends you can meet on a machine that runs on electricity and plugs into a wall. Who would have thought? Thank you my friend so much for sharing your life with us. Vermont awaits you when the urge finally strikes! Have a loving and joyous Thanksgiving filled with oodles of gratitude:) Blessings and love..VK
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Thank you, VK; we were just looking at homes in the Belvidere area (online) last week, and Rutland the week before…we shall see. Not this year, but maybe soon. I agree: How blessed we are to have the internet for making connections and meeting others who remind us we’re not alone…and to be able to share our writing/ideas/interests and passions with people we wouldn’t otherwise meet: how wonderful!
Joy to your gratitude celebrations: I have an idea they are every day! 🙂 And peace to your gentle heart. (And, of course, smooches to all felines, as Finnegan reminds me.)
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My dearest Kitty,
I was searching for the words to let you know how I felt reading this post and there it was bright and bold “Living from the spirit level”! For that is indeed what you do. For where else can such a wealth of grace and joy and abundance flow from! I just want to say I am deeply thankful for you. For your beautiful heart. For your generous spirit. I am thankful to know someone like you. For it is people like you who add so much richness into the tapestry of life. I wish you and your loved ones and all those funny, furry, dearest friends a very Happy Thanksgiving! May the inhabitants of Full Moon Cottage always have so much to be thankful for! Love, Sharon
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I am so blessed to have found your wisdom, art, and beauty as well, Sharon; hooray for the gift of the internet! I know you bring your own transparent goodness to my writing and I thank you for lifting up the good bits, shining your light upon them and encouraging me. Blessed be your sweet spirit.
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