Thank you is enough

11/22/25

It’s Thanksgiving week, and I’m grateful for this collective invitation toward gratitude that seems to fill the air (at least here in the U.S.). Attending to appreciation has a way of softening this heart in quiet, almost miraculous ways. As I searched for inspiration for this month’s writing, I came across a timeless quote by Meister Eckhart:

“If the only prayer you ever say in your entire life is thank you, it will be enough.”

Each time I encounter this quote, it stops me. It asks me to consider whether I’m truly grateful for the moment right here—without complaint, without bargaining. Some days that feels effortless; on others, it feels like a tall order.

Opening to appreciation can sometimes be as simple as shifting our gaze toward the cup that is half full. But when I’m deep in a funk (aka resisting what’s here), appreciation often requires something different: moving through the heaviness, feeling the sludge without identifying with it, and then gently surrendering what’s ready to fall away. One thing I’ve learned—force doesn’t work. I’ve tried.

We may not always understand why we feel what we feel. Yet in the moments when I feel tightened or shut down, even the smallest willingness… the tiniest gesture of allowing… can open a golden door back into appreciation and connection.

As we move into this season of gathering and reflection, may we each find our own doorway into gratitude—not as a performance, but as a gentle returning. And may we remember that even a single, sincere “thank you” can be enough.

And when we return to our natural state, gratitude isn’t something we try to generate. It’s simply what arises.

May it arise in us all.