I learned while traveling the PNW a few years ago that Giant sequoias need fire to grow.

Not metaphorically — literally.

Their cones stay sealed tight for decades until heat cracks them open.

Only then do the seeds fall.

Only then does new life take root in the ash, free from the shadows of a canopy.

There must be destruction before being brought into the light to live for thousands of years.

I’ve been thinking about that today — on a holiday that asks us to name what we’re grateful for, even in a world on fire.

Maybe gratitude isn’t about pretending the flames never touched us.

Maybe it’s about honoring what survived…

and what began bc something else ended.

Sequoias don’t fear fire;

they transform through it.

And maybe… we can, too.

New life is born after the burn.

This year, I’m giving thanks for the growth I couldn’t see while everything was still on fire.

Ty for being here.

~Ms. G, J.D.