Two Minutes Du Jour

The light shifts, the air stills, and suddenly the familiar becomes sparse. November asks us to see what remains and embrace all that is.

Simple Abundance

Sarah Ban Breathnach opens the November section of Simple Abundance: A Daybook of Comfort and Joy with a line from the eighteenth-century Japanese poet Riei:

“All freezes again — among the pines, winds whispering a prayer.”

Ban Breathnach writes that “November silently sneaks up on us, catching our senses by surprise.” She tells us us the English poet Thomas Hood once grumbled that there’s “no shade, no shine, no butterflies, no bees.”

Yet Ban Breathnach sees something truer beneath that bleakness. November’s beauty, she says, “radiates from within,” like a woman who has found her authenticity.

I’ve read Simple Abundance cover to cover many times and often return to it in small doses (a day, a week, a month of dedicated time to cherish its wisdom). The November meditations are especially grounding: Embracing the Ebb, Caring for Your Soul, Rising to the Occasion, The Sacrament of the Present Moment, True Thanksgiving. They are quiet invitations to notice, to care, to live with intention.

Gratitude isn’t reserved for a single holiday or even a single month. It’s a regular practice of paying attention to what’s changing outside the window and what’s stirring within.

Real Gatherings – Family, Food and Fun

Long walks, full tables, and easy laughter filled the days as autumn came to life.

This past October overflowed with opportunities to gather and November will continue with gatherings galore. Our meals feature wild rice, sweet potatoes, kale, pumpkin, parsnips, apples and other seasonal foods showed up in soups, stews, salads, appetizers, desserts and you name it.

Our family’s November traditions also revolve around meals — planning them, cooking them, sharing them. With an adult crowd and mixed diets (Mediterranean, keto, vegan), variety becomes the new tradition. It’s both a challenge and a joy to craft menus that make everyone feel included and our hearts full of not just calories but gratitude.

Nature Shifts

Outside, life continues its quiet pulse: a rafter of wild turkeys crossing the street, a few hydrangea still holding their faded blooms, even a wolf darting across the yard. Despite the slowing season, the world hums with motion and meaning.

As November begins, may we find gratitude in the essentials — warmth, nourishment, company, and pause. The beauty of this month lies not in what’s gone but in what remains.

Two Links Du Jour:

2025 Whole Foods Holiday Catering Catalog – inspiration for effortless abundance, whether you place an order or make your own meals

The Haiku Foundation – A repository of haikai saijiki (almanac of seasonal topics and season words used in haiku and linked-poetry composition)