Reaching Out

A neighbor who refused to speak to me for the thirty years I’ve lived on this street extended her hand in friendship yesterday.  I immediately responded in kind, and we at once fell into an easy conversation. 

Musing over this happy turn of events, I could not but wonder about our tendency to cut ourselves off from each other—sisters and brothers who have not spoken for decades; best friends who, for too many years, have had no contact with each other.  What if everyone who reads this reflection, were to reach out and touch someone they haven’t talked to for a long time?  What if, we use these eleven days before Thanksgiving, to make the call, send the note, knock on the door and reconnect with those lost relatives, forgotten friends and neglected neighbors?  Would that not make the big day all the more blessed and ourselves more authentic? 

“As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them.” –John Fitzgerald Kennedy

“He who thanks but with the lips/Thanks but in part;
/The full, the true Thanksgiving
/Comes from the heart.” –J.A. Shedd


“Grace isn’t a little prayer you chant before receiving a meal.  It’s a way to live.” –Attributed to Jacqueline Winspear


Enjoy your day!