Take a moment to arrive here,
Wherever you are,
Let your body settle.
If you're sitting,
Feel the ground beneath you.
If you're lying down,
Allow your weight to be held by the earth below you.
There's nothing you need to change,
Nothing you need to get right.
Just this breath,
Arriving,
And this one.
As we begin,
I invite you not to go searching for big,
Impressive reasons to be thankful.
Instead,
Let's just get curious.
Where might gratitude already be hiding,
Waiting to be noticed?
Bring your attention gently into your body.
Notice the places that feel a little more alive,
A little more open.
Where is there a whisper of thank you?
Maybe you find that in your lungs,
Filling and emptying.
Maybe you encounter it in your feet that carried you here today.
Maybe in a small softness in your hands,
Your shoulders,
Or your belly.
No need to judge,
Just notice where the spark of thank you lives right now.
Now let your awareness widen beyond your body.
Consider the simple things that have been companions in your life.
The aromas you love,
Maybe the smell of coffee,
Freshly baked bread,
Or rain falling on warm earth.
How about the sounds that bring you comfort?
A favorite song,
The voice of someone dear,
Sound of rustling leaves,
Or childhood laughter.
Allow someone who's been showing up for you right now to start to come to your mind.
Let yourself feel their presence.
Notice what rises in you as you remember them,
As you hold them close.
Now gently bring forward something that has been steady in your life,
Something that you've been working toward,
A project,
A relationship,
A practice.
Allow this to be a reminder that your effort matters and that the journey itself is worthy of your thanks.
Take a moment to notice all the ways that you feel gratitude show up here,
Not just for the something,
But also for yourself and the part that you play in it.
I invite you to consider that gratitude can be both a mirror and a compass.
A mirror reflecting back what is already here,
And a compass pointing us towards what gives life,
What brings us alive,
What matters most.
Notice how gratitude is not something you have to create,
That it's already present,
Just waiting to be seen.
In this moment,
See if you might be able to bring to mind one expected thing that you feel grateful for.
Something quirky,
Maybe it's something overlooked.
It could be a chipped coffee mug that still holds warmth,
The way sunlight falls on your floor early in the morning,
A favorite color,
Or even the pause between two breaths.
Notice how gratitude expands when we let it simply be,
When we allow the unexpected to matter.
Start to rest back into your body as home,
And notice how gratitude feels here,
All the obvious and surprising gratitudes.
Feel them gather in you,
In your chest,
In your breath,
In your hands,
Your whole being.
Notice how it feels to carry them.
You don't need to hold them tightly,
Just let them rest here with you.
As we start to soften back toward all that calls us in life,
I invite you to let gratitude be your mirror.
Let it reflect not just what is good,
But also what is true,
And let it be your compass,
Pointing you back to what matters most.
Remember,
Gratitude doesn't need to be summoned,
It only needs to be noticed.
May you carry one small thank you with you into your day.
I invite you to take a final deep breath in,
And a slow,
Steady breath out.
And when you're ready,
Open your eyes and head out into the world with a full heart and senses full of noticing.
