Family dinner feels forced until the year the chairs start emptying.
GRATITUDE
WHAT THIS MEANS
A ritual you did not choose can feel like an obligation for years. Sitting down at the same time with the same people, having the same slightly irritating conversation, seems like something being imposed. What it is actually doing is keeping everyone in the same room at regular intervals, and that is not a thing that lasts forever.
You are allowed to find it dull. Just go anyway, and while you are there ask one question you have never asked. People leave for all sorts of ordinary reasons, and the table changes shape long before anything sad happens. Each of those dinners is one of a limited number.
A QUESTION TO SIT WITH
Who is still at your table that you take for granted?
MORE IN GRATITUDE & PRESENCE
- Gratitude doesn’t change the picture. It changes the lens, and suddenly there’s more in the frame.
- Your whole commute is either lost time or free time. The only difference is where your head goes.
- Your parents’ sacrifices don’t show up in your feed. They show up in their shoes being older than yours.
Free, with nothing to buy inside it.