The Smallest Grace
How ordinary moments become invitations to presence, gratitude, and quiet noticing.
This morning, as the winter sun slowly rose, I was drawn to the soft glow of my twinkle lights. They turned my office into a cozy space, filling it with gentle, warm colours. I took a quiet moment to thank these simple lights for bringing comfort and peace.
A few years ago, I began a simple ritual: thanking the ordinary things and moments in my life. As I walk, I thank the sunrise or the moon still in the sky. I thank the birds for their songs and the fresh smell of nature. I thank the airplane that takes me to a new city and the hotel room that gives me rest after a long day. Recently, when I dropped off a broken TV at the recycling depot, I paused to thank it for its years in my grandma’s and then my mom’s home. These small gestures help connect the pieces of my life.
Sometimes I think about how this practice has changed my days. I remember a morning about a year ago when my wife and I argued before work, which upset our son. The tension stayed with me as I drove away, feeling frustrated and stubborn. Then I looked up and saw a full winter moon ahead, while the sunrise glowed in my rearview mirror. For a moment, it felt like the world wanted me to notice. I felt grateful, and my anger faded. What started as a small experiment had become a way to pause, notice what I used to miss, and appreciate ordinary moments. This practice is more than just being thankful; it’s about seeing the quiet impact of things we might overlook. When I am open, I often find grace in the smallest places.
The root of the word gratitude comes from the Latin word gratus, which means pleasing, thankful, beloved, or in favour of. Gratus is the same root behind grateful, gratitude, gratuitous, and congratulations. It is also the same root behind the word grace. Putting this together, the linguistic root of gratitude holds both the feeling of thankfulness and the recognition of grace.
We often go through life without stopping to notice the grace and beauty around us, even during hard times. Diana Butler Bass once said1, “Gratitude is not a form of passive acceptance or complicity. Rather, it is the capacity to stare doubt, loss, chaos, and despair right in the eye and say, ‘I am still here.’” When I repeat these words, I take a deep breath and feel my heartbeat slow, reminding me of the peace in the moment. This simple physical response shows how gratitude can deeply affect both mind and body.
Every day we are alive, we can face life and say, “I am still here.” I am still here, and I see you, sun. I see you, moon. I hear you, wind, as you move through the trees. I feel you, warmth, as I settle into my home. These small moments help me stay present and remind me that, even when life is uncertain, it still welcomes me.
I invite you to pause for a moment, wherever you are. Look around and pick one thing nearby to notice. Say a quiet thank you, whether it’s for something comforting, a pleasant smell, or a peaceful sound. Let this small act of gratitude help you feel present and grounded.
In Jewish tradition, the Talmud teaches that people should offer blessings for even the smallest things: the smell of a flower, a sip of water, the taste of fruit, or arriving safely. In Christian tradition, Brother Lawrence, a 17th-century Carmelite monk, found holiness in simple daily tasks. He said he felt as close to God “while picking up a straw from the ground” as he did in prayer. The sounds of his pots and pans and the splash of water became his daily hymns, and he gave thanks while washing dishes, making soup, and sweeping. In Buddhism, Dōgen wrote, “Do not overlook a single drop of water.” He taught gratitude for a breath, the smell of tea leaves, the gentle sound of rain, and the warmth of a bowl in your hands. Likewise, in modern mindfulness practices, many people focus on appreciating the present moment, recognizing ordinary scenes as sources of peace and joy, and finding contentment in the simplest aspects of life. This perspective encourages us to be attentive and grateful, regardless of our religious or secular backgrounds.
All these teachings show that gratitude can turn ordinary things into memorable moments, and that life is full of small things waiting for us to notice and appreciate them.
As we go into the weekend, I invite you to reflect: How can we welcome small moments of gratitude into our lives? What do we usually miss that we could notice? What can we thank simply because “we are here”?
Now, I try to carry this openness with me, trusting that even on difficult days, the world offers quiet gifts if I choose to notice them. Maybe that’s the real lesson: grace is always present, waiting in the most ordinary places, if only we pause long enough to see it.
With warmth & gratitude,
Brooke.
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From the book Grateful: The Subversive Practice of Giving Thanks by Diana Butler Bass.
Such a tender reminder to notice the beauty and grace in everyday moments! 🌸
This is beautiful. Thank you. I thank so many things every day. I’m not sure when I started but it seems to ground me in something that makes me less agitated by the chaos of the day. Today, even though it was very cold, I thanked the newly risen sun as it smiled on me between buildings. I think I saw it smile back. ❤️