What is grace? I first started pondering this question when I went to the celebration of Twyla Tharp’s 50th anniversary in dance at the Kennedy Center a couple of weeks ago. Her dancers were so lithe, so free, so joyful, so graceful that I was lifted right out of myself. I found myself puzzling about the many meanings of the word “grace” and trying to figure out what they all had in common. Soon afterwards the main page of my library’s website was featuring dance critic Sarah Kaufman’s The Art of Grace: On Moving Well through Life, and I thought, “Aha, somebody’s done this work.” I put my name on the hold list, but at number 36 it may be a while. So I continued my investigation. Grace can mean many things—elegance, poise, agility, social courtesy, charm, favor, a reprieve, a prayer before meals, a blessing, divine assistance, a moment of transcendence—all of which encompass a sense of relief and ease. Still, how do you recognize it in your life? I’m always looking for ways to divert my mind from its stubborn need to perceive only the negatives (there are so many). Then last night my husband came running in from the twilit backyard to announce that the full moon was rising through the clouds. I bundled up and followed him to the precise spot he had picked to observe the event. There was the bright, round moon floating effortlessly above the bamboo to begin its ascent over our roof. “Isn’t it great?” he started to say, but it came out, “Isn’t it grace?” Yes. I might not be able to define it, but I had just received it. A gift.