Here in the United States, we’re celebrating  Thanksgiving today. I’m more than happy to admit that it’s probably my favorite holiday. It caps off fall, my favorite season and leads us right into my second favorite season, winter. I get to spend time with the family and friends who I love, and I get to eat my weight in butter-soaked goodness of so many varieties. But really, it’s also a day where I get to take a second and take stock of all that I have to be thankful for. I think this lovely poem by Alberto Rios really sums it up well for me.

All the best, and happy Thanksgiving,
Alison

When Giving Is All We Have
Alberto Rios, 1952

One river gives
Its journey to the next.

We give because someone gave to us.
We give because nobody gave to us.

We give because giving has changed us.
We give because giving could have changed us.

We have been better for it,
We have been wounded by it —

Giving has many faces: It is loud and quiet,
Big, though small, diamond in wood-nails.

Its story is old, the plot worn and the pages too,
But we read this book, anyway, over and again:

Giving is, first and every time, hand to hand,
Mine to yours, yours to mine.

You gave me blue and I gave you yellow.
Together we are simple green. You gave me

What you did not have, and I gave you
What I had to give — together, we made

Something greater from the difference.