🍞 Toast, Tea, and Tiny Joys: Reframing November with Gratitude

How practicing gratitude for the everyday can shift our mindset through darker, colder days

Some weeks feel like a test from the universe — as if everything that could go wrong decides to do so at once. This past week has been one of those. A car that broke down at the least convenient moment, an oven that quite literally gave up with a puff of smoke, and a freezer that decided it no longer fancied freezing. It’s amazing how quickly a calm week can unravel into frustration, expense, and exhaustion.

When things pile up like that, it’s easy to feel pulled under — not just by the practical stress, but by the emotional weight of it all. Those small daily irritations can gather momentum until they start to feel personal, as if life itself is conspiring against you. I found myself running on autopilot, doing what needed to be done, but with that familiar tightness in the chest that says, “this is too much.”

So I pressed pause.

Sometimes, we need to physically step away from the noise of a week that’s taken too much out of us. For me, that meant heading outside — wrapping up against the chill, finding a quiet spot, and shooting a few arrows. There’s a grounding simplicity in archery: the focus on breath, the strength in the pull, the quiet moment before release. It asks for presence. For calm. And as the arrows thudded into the target, I could feel some of that pent-up tension start to ease.

Later, back home, I made toast, poured a cup of tea, and sat for a moment doing nothing more than being. No lists, no problem-solving — just noticing. The warmth of the mug in my hands. The golden crust of the toast. The quiet hum of the house. These weren’t grand moments of transformation, but small acts of reclaiming peace.

November often brings a different kind of challenge. The light fades earlier, the weather turns, and energy can dip. For many, it’s a month that calls us inward — not just physically but emotionally. It’s easy to lose sight of joy when the days feel shorter and heavier. Yet this is also the perfect time to slow down and notice the tiny, grounding moments that remind us life still holds goodness.

Gratitude doesn’t have to be about writing long lists of achievements or pretending that everything’s fine. It’s about soft noticing — an acknowledgement of the small things that keep us tethered. The sound of rain on the window while you’re warm inside. A message from someone checking in. The smell of toast, the comfort of tea, the stillness between one breath and the next.

By gently shifting our attention towards these small anchors, we create space for perspective to return. Gratitude doesn’t erase the frustration of broken cars or blown-up ovens, but it helps us remember that the hard moments aren’t the whole story.

So as we move through November — with its darker skies and slower pace — perhaps take time to look for your own tiny joys. They don’t have to be extraordinary. They might be a walk that clears your head, a song that lifts your mood, or a shared laugh that lightens the day.

Gratitude isn’t about dismissing what’s difficult. It’s about recognising that even within difficulty, there are moments of warmth and connection that keep us going. Sometimes, all it takes is a bit of toast, a good cup of tea, and the reminder that you’re allowed to slow down and breathe.