A Year of Gratitude – October 9, 2024

I found a reason for gratitude at my feet this afternoon. We were given such a beautiful day and I wanted to make the most of it by being outside, by feeling the sunshine on my face and the crisp air in my lungs.

As I was walking, I looked down and saw this leaf in my path. The leaves are just beginning to accumulate on the ground and in the garden beds. Soon there will be a thick blanket of fallen leaves everywhere you look.

Today, in this space, there was just this one. I was so taken by its deep color set against the grass which is turning dormant for the season ahead. While this leaf isn’t bright green as it was this summer and isn’t the brilliant red or gold that gets most of the attention during leaf peeping season, it was beautiful all the same.

I also noticed the scar on the bottom left of the leaf. I’m not sure what caused it. Perhaps a bothersome pest. Or maybe it was another sort of trauma caused by conditions, weather, or impact. No matter the cause, this leaf wears the mark of its past.

In a way, we all do. We are made up of the scars we carry. We all have them. Some of them are worn on the outside for everyone to see. Others are buried deep inside ourselves and only shown to those we feel safe sharing them with.

So often we are made to feel as though we should cover those scars, hide them away. We are made to feel embarrassed by the appearance of imperfection knowing all the while that we are all imperfect.

Yet a scar can be beautifully worn inside or out. It is the mark of the character it represents. I like character. I appreciate that it can be earned through struggle, that it can bring us wisdom for having endured that struggle.

Perhaps that is why this leaf caught my eye. I didn’t see its imperfections. Instead, I saw its resilience, an ability to persevere. It made it through the season and to the destination it was intended to reach –  at my feet on a glorious fall day.

And yes, I did pick it up to bring inside the farmhouse with me. I’m going to keep it nearby to remind me how beautiful our imperfections can be if only we choose to see them that way.

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I started sharing my daily gratitude on the first day of this year. I have learned from this practice that gratitude deepens when you share it out loud (or online). It also multiplies in the loveliest way when others receive your gratitude and share theirs in return.

Join in my daily gratitude if you like. Share a photo of something you’re working on, something beautiful you discovered in your day, a photo of something you love, or leave a comment about how you found your gratitude. By sharing our gratitude with each other, we can greet the day ahead with an open heart and a grateful spirit.

If you are struggling through a day where you just can’t muster up the strength to find your gratitude, that’s okay too. I have been there. I know the depth of that despair, of the feeling that there is nothing to be grateful for.

Know that I am grateful that you saw this post today, on the day that you needed it most. I am grateful for you, for the simple fact that you are here.

#gratitude #grateful #thankful #thankfulness #mindful #nature #fall #autumn #leaf #leaves #foliage #farm

This post is part of our A Year of Gratitude Series. You can find the introduction, inspiration, and entire year’s gratitude’s posts here.