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As this year draws to a close, that comforting time of the year returns. When the wind turns chilly, winter layers come out, campfires crackle, and the surroundings glow with Christmas lights and year-end warmth.

December has always been my favourite month.
Born in the last week of the year, I’ve grown up associating this time with both celebration and quiet reflection.

Naturally, this is when I pause, look back, and feel grateful for everything the year has given me.

Many of us, in our own ways, are blessed with opportunities, love, kindness or lessons — sometimes all of them, sometimes a few. And when we reflect on this abundance, our hearts fill with gratitude and thankfulness.

We turn toward those we believe made it possible —
the Creator, our parents, our friends, our teachers, our communities…

The simplest way to express gratitude is to say thank you.
But on a deeper level, I often wonder — is saying thank you enough?

Maybe it is.
But what does gratitude look like when it’s lived, not just spoken?

One of the reasons I began writing was to express that very gratitude — for the education I received, the opportunities life opened up, and the experiences that shaped me. And if these words can help even one person find a little more meaning or perspective, that itself feels like a small way of giving back.

So, as we step into a new year, here are five simple but powerful ways to practise gratitude in action — not just in words.

1. Give Your Full Presence, Not Half Attention

2. Return the Value — Don’t Just Receive It

Gratitude becomes real when it flows both ways.

If someone supports you, ask yourself — How can I support them in return?
Not necessarily in a transactional sense, but in a human one.

Share what you know.
Help when they’re stretched.
Check in when nothing is required.

Service to others is the rent you pay for your room here on earth.
— Muhammad Ali

Reciprocation shows that their effort didn’t go unnoticed — or unvalued.

3. Act Before Being Asked

Some of the strongest expressions of gratitude don’t need words at all.

Clean up without being told.
Offer a hand when someone seems overwhelmed.
Fix something before it becomes a problem.

The smallest act of kindness is worth more than the grandest intention.
— Oscar Wilde

When you anticipate needs, you show that you’re paying attention — that you recognise the invisible effort others invest every day.