A Reflection on Gratitude

Let us not measure a life
by the number of its days
but by the depth of its kindness,
the breadth of its grace.

Let us remember not the leaving
but the years of arrival—
all the times they walked through our door,
all the times they chose to stay.

Let us be grateful for the laughter,
even now through our tears.
Let us give thanks for the love we shared
across all the turning years.

For gratitude is not a denial of grief;
it is grief's companion.
It says: I hurt because I loved,
and I would not trade a single day.

So let us hold both things together—
the ache of loss, the warmth of love—
and know that we are richer
for having known them,
and for having been known.