This Thanksgiving season is one of contrasts.

There is the anticipation of a much loved holiday and family celebration with visions of recipes involving nutmeg and cinnamon, apples and nuts, roasted vegetables and 10 ways to cook a turkey, and family and friends gathered in gratitude for another year and each other.

And there is the other more poignant side of that image - those alone by choice or circumstance, those far away or estranged, those struggling to make ends meet, those in nursing homes, prisons, homeless shelters.

And many families are grieving this holiday from the loss of loved ones. There have been a number of deaths in the community this week as well as tragedies we read in the news - older people whose time had come, people whose illnesses finally overwhelmed their bodies, and people older and younger taken by accident or misfortune.

It is these dark and light threads that weave through our lives side-by-side that remind us to be grateful for the days we have, still or busy mornings, afternoons of work, projects or errands, and the precious minutes when we turn toward this breath and then this one. Let us know in our bones that the only time we have is now and honor this moment with our full attention.

May we practice in gratitude and compassion knowing that we, too, are heir to the 10,000 joys and 10,000 sorrows of this life.