When you have eaten and are satisfied,
praise the Lord for the good land
you have been given.
-Deuteronomy 8:10
only kindness that ties your shoes
and sends you out into the day to mail letters
and purchase bread,
only kindness that raises its head
from the crowd of the world to say
It is I you have been looking for,
and then goes with you everywhere
like a shadow or a friend.
--from Naomi Shibab Nye's poem, Kindness
At this meditation on the eve of Thanksgiving
let us ponder and give thanks for occasions
of kindness given and received this past year.
