How Do You Express Gratitude?

If you’d asked me years ago, I might have said gratitude was a polite “thank you” at the right time. But the truth is, gratitude has become a whole language I’ve learned to live by — a rhythm that guides my stories, my steps, and my service to this beautiful world.

When I first wrote Adventures of Sauli the rescue pup stories, they were my way of saying thank you to the child within me — the one who needed wonder, courage, and a reminder that every tiny action matters. Those pages became little offerings of hope, like wildflowers left on a trail for the next traveler.

Now, with my new book series in collaboration with the beautiful Sora Mei, A Song and Dance For Mother Earth, my gratitude has grown roots and branches. I express it by listening to the land, telling stories that remind us we belong to something bigger — that we are guests here, and caretakers too. Every character, every line, every lesson is my way of bowing to the Earth and to the generations who will come after us.

For me, gratitude is not a checklist — it’s an adventure in itself. It’s a story I keep rewriting through my books, my choices, and the tiny, everyday moments: whispering thanks to the wind, leaving a patch of garden wild, passing on a tale that might light up someone’s day.

So, how do I express gratitude? By never keeping it inside. By wrapping it in words, songs, and dances that remind us all we’re part of this living, breathing story — and that the greatest thank you is to love it fiercely, together.