SPIRITUAL CHALLENGE for Personal Growth for NOVEMBER 2025
“Become the Gratitude Department”
My spiritual challenge to you this month is to take it upon yourself to be the “Gratitude Department.” Think of yourself as the exact opposite of the complaint desk. Look for opportunities to thank others for who they are and what they do, especially those people who may not hear it all the time, such as the customer service representative you speak to on the phone or via messaging chat, the person stocking the shelves in a supermarket, the crossing guard near that school by your house, the postal carrier. I guarantee it will make their day and it will make you feel better too. Spread some sunshine and engage in random acts of thanksgiving. Tis the season for it. As always, I’d love to hear about your experience with this challenge.
DAILY PRACTICE
Daily Reading/Meditation: “…Can we release the idea that reciprocity is an obligation to be fulfilled within a static relationship, and instead embrace it as an ongoing movement of care and trust? If we unshackle reciprocity from capitalist logic, we can begin to imagine it differently. What if reciprocity was not about settling a balance but about tending to relationships across time and space? What if reciprocity was not limited to direct exchange but understood as a web of care, where what we receive in one place informs how we give in another? What if reciprocity was a practice of honoring what we have been given, not just in return to the giver, but in how we show up in the world? Reciprocity is not a transaction to be fulfilled. It is an orientation of how we move through the world, with care and relational integrity. The question, then, is not what can I give back? but how will I move differently because of what I have received?” – Sabrina Meherally
Daily Chalice Lighting: “We light this chalice for eyes that see miracles in mundane moments. May this flame remind us that gratitude grows not through waiting for extraordinary gifts but through noticing the ordinary blessings surrounding us daily.” – Rev. Michelle Collins
Daily Chalice Extinguishing: “This flame is extinguished, but our gratitude continues in action. May your appreciation for life’s gifts translate into work that extends those same blessings to others.” – Rev. Michelle Collins