Take Two—11/27/2025
Ideas and inspiration for a more intentional, extraordinary life.
November 27, 2025
Words to Wonder:
Alive in the Moments We Notice
"We can only be said to be alive in those moments when our hearts are conscious of our treasures."
— Thornton Wilder, American novelist
PERSPECTIVES TO PONDER
This week in the United States, we celebrate Thanksgiving. The holiday traces back to 1621, when the Pilgrims of Plymouth and members of the Wampanoag Nation gathered to give thanks for a successful harvest. That first winter in Plymouth had been brutal, claiming nearly half the Pilgrims’ lives. It was the local tribes' agricultural knowledge, shared generously, that made the following harvest abundant and ensured the Pilgrims’ survival.
In 1863, during the height of the Civil War, Abraham Lincoln issued a proclamation designating Thanksgiving as a national holiday. His message acknowledged the nation’s blessings—agricultural abundance, industrial progress—but also urged Americans to remember the immense suffering of widows, families, and soldiers whose lives had been torn apart by war.
It’s striking that both the origins of Thanksgiving and its formal establishment as a holiday came at times of deep hardship. We often slip into the idea that gratitude is reserved for when life is wonderful. But in truth, life is always a blend—good and difficult, joy and pain, simple and complicated. And it’s precisely within those mixed seasons that gratitude becomes most powerful.
As the year draws to a close, it’s a chance to slow down and really look at your life—to notice the things, people, and moments that have carried you. Not because everything has gone smoothly, but because even in difficult seasons, there are gifts that quietly sustain us.
May you enter this season with open eyes and a grateful heart, recognizing the treasures already in your life—and in the simple act of noticing, become truly alive.
QUESTIONS WORTH CONSIDERING
• What is one thing you did this week that will improve your future?
• What did you do that may hurt it?
• Where did your choices reflect the person you want to become—and where did they fall short?
BEFORE YOU GO
Gratitude isn't about having more—it’s about seeing more. May you notice the many blessings and wonders in your life this week.
Stay inspired by the life you’re living,
Kevin