A Practice of Gratitude

Thiele writes...

I married into Rick and Maria’s family in the summer of 2024. And prior to that, I spent 8 years dating their oldest grandson and witnessing many family traditions. One of my favorite traditions that this special family maintains is a practice of gratitude each night before dinner. It goes a little something like this…

1. Everyone gathers around a delicious, home-cooked meal that typically includes ingredients from a household garden or chicken coop.
2. We hold hands with our table neighbors.
3. We share, one-by-one, something we are grateful for. It can be as simple as one word, and usually, there are additional instructions (e.g. something from the day we had together).
4. We listen to the multi-generational response and relish everything we have to be grateful for in this life.

While I do not remember the very first time that I participated in this family tradition, I do remember feeling like I needed to be prepared as we sat down for dinner with the “best” answer. I didn’t think of it as a competition, per say, but I felt the pressure, as an adult at the table, to share something profound. But what I realized over time was that the most profound answers came from Molly’s girls or Martha’s younger two boys – unembellished, uncomplicated answers that made all of the adults nod and think, “of course.”

I specifically remember one day on Block Island, during a week-long family vacation, when Mazzy said, “the rainbow.” This response to the dinner tradition came at the end of a gloomy day. We always seem to make the most of the days with unsatisfactory weather - there is plenty to do with our time on the charming island we all love. But I can’t say it is what we all hope for… August on Block Island should be filled with sunny, salty days on the beach, and this day was not one of those. So, as I sat for dinner and racked my brain for something to contribute, the ease and matter-of-factness of Mazzy’s response caught me off guard. It was a wonderful reminder for all of us that even on gloomy days, there is something (many things, really) that are worth cherishing. It was also a wonderful glimpse of the world through a child's eyes.

Funnily enough, the structure of this tradition, I've noticed, beautifully parallels the 8 Steps of Zentangle. We begin with Gratitude and Appreciation for gathering around a table with loved ones and nutritious food, the instructions that create a boundary for our contribution are the Dots, Border and String, each contribution toward this shared bucket of adoration are the Tangles and Shading… adding dimension and texture to our table conversation, the uniqueness of each response serves as a Chop or Signature, and finally, once everyone has shared, we all squeeze the hands of those next to us a little tighter before letting go, showing Appreciation once again for the beautiful life we live.

This Thursday, if you are celebrating Thanksgiving, I encourage you to reflect on and be thankful for the simple, mundane things that we often glaze over. See the world through a child’s eyes for a moment. Whether you write them down, say them in your head, or share them with those around you, I promise the practice will make you smile.

Happy Thanksgiving from all of us at ZHQ!