Because all things have contributed to your advancement, you should include all things in your gratitude. ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

Gratitude. The quality of being thankful.
So what does quality mean?
The standard of something 
as measured against other things 
of a similar kind;
the degree of excellence.
Are we comparing kinds of thankfulness
gauged by other sorts of appreciation?
So, gratitude compared to
run-of-the-mill acknowledged blessing?
But that’s the nub, isn’t it?
Are we grateful for only blessings?
Can we acknowledge good in miscues?
Glad the airline lost the luggage
because with the delay she could not
have gotten the bags to the hotel?
Seeing good in illness that brings to light
the things in life worth acknowledging?
Is the quality of being thankful
not the pausing to acknowledge events
but the celebration of all of them,
desired and feared?
All things move us to who we are
and deserve to be recognized,
approved, and left to a higher power
to put them in their place
as we let our heart surge
for that power’s presence in our lives.