Let Yourself Rest In Gratitude

What if the secret to a richer life isn’t having more, but noticing more? In this episode, we awaken the quiet power of gratitude—and explore how small moments can change everything. Are you ready to see your life differently?

Transcript

Welcome to this talk named Let Yourself Rest in Gratitude.

There's a quiet truth that moves through our lives like a low,

Warm hum.

So subtle that we often miss it.

And it's gratitude.

Not the polite kind.

Not the one wrapped in obligation or moral duty.

Saying thank you because you have to say thank you like in a shop or something.

But in a soft inner shift.

A small light that turns on when we truly see what we have.

And what could so easily have slipped away.

Gratitude,

To live in gratitude,

It's a kind of wakefulness.

It opens our eyes the way morning dew opens a flower.

It lets us see the people in our lives with a gentler gaze.

One that receives rather than demands.

When we assume life will continue exactly as it is today we fall into a kind of sleep.

We stop noticing the love woven into small gestures.

A cup of tea placed quietly in front of us.

A message from a friend that wasn't necessary but you really appreciated it.

A smile from a stranger holding a door that somehow makes the day feel just a bit better.

A small smile.

And these are just stories about other human beings.

But when we talk about gratitude we have to zoom out.

It's a whole universe out there.

The world.

Mother Earth.

God.

Whatever name feels true for you does not owe us anything.

We have to remember that.

Life doesn't owe us anything.

Life is not a transaction.

It's a gift.

You are given a gift.

We are not human beings trying to have a spiritual experience.

We are spiritual beings moving through a human experience.

We have got the gift of a human experience.

And this experience is astonishing.

Mysterious.

Almost impossible to grasp.

We are part of an immense universe.

Never ending.

We're on a tiny Earth.

And somehow in the middle of all this vastness we have consciousness.

We're conscious.

The light is on inside of us every second until we pass away.

You can sense with five senses.

Think.

Feel.

You can taste honey.

The sweet honey.

And you can swim in clear waters.

You can cry when something breaks open in you.

And you can laugh until your ribs ache with your best friend.

This full spectrum of being human.

Every shade of emotion.

Every sound.

Every breath.

Is a miracle.

It's living artwork.

A gift so wild and tender that we may never fully understand it.

The only thing we can do is to receive it with gratitude.

But I have to tell you that we have to get out of our heads that we are humans who deserve this.

Or even worse,

Humans who deserve even better.

Honestly,

We don't deserve anything.

We are just part of nature.

Look around you.

Nature literally keeps offering her steady,

Humble miracles.

Miracles we rarely pause to thank.

The sun rising every single morning without asking anything in return.

Your heart beating faithfully,

Beat by beat.

A silent guardian working inside you.

And you have actually nothing to do with it.

Your immune system working day and night.

So you can keep living healthy and without wounds.

You hear birdsong in the morning.

Maybe hundreds of birds singing for you.

We have clean water moving through the body of the earth and into our own.

Bees,

They fly around and they create honey.

Sweet,

Golden care from a creature so small.

All of this happens without guarantees,

Without needing our gratitude.

Which may be exactly why it deserves it the most.

Life,

This fragile,

Pulsing mystery.

Whisper something to us.

Nothing is promised.

Don't take anything for granted.

Everything we love can change shape,

Disappear and bloom again.

Or slip through the fingers before we know it.

So be grateful every day you have what you love.

Gratitude becomes a quiet prayer in response.

A way of keeping the heart soft in the presence of change.

And when we turn our attention to what is here,

Right now.

Something calm and spacious begins to open.

The day feels clearer.

The ordinary begins to glow.

Like the honey and the bird song and the fact that the sun is shining.

These are ordinary things,

But they shouldn't be.

Let them make you glow instead.

See the people in your life as if it was for the first time.

And also as if it were for the last,

Because you never know.

It makes you more tender,

More appreciating.

You are more in the moment.

You really love hearing what they have to say.

You start paying attention,

Deep listening.

And they like you more and it just spins off to just becoming a much better day.

Ordinary things,

But they make you glow.

And then you can just look around yourself.

Look at the people who cleaned the streets before you wake up.

Feel soft gratitude for them.

Think of the farmer who rose before sunrise to grow the food you place in your cart and your heart.

Feel that gratitude again.

Place your hand on your heart for a moment and feel its rhythm.

Feel the gift repeating itself without promise.

Carried by a grace we can hardly comprehend.

I want to ask you.

Would you trade your tomorrow for a million dollars?

I gave you a million dollars right now,

But you wouldn't wake up tomorrow.

Of course you wouldn't.

This is how valuable your life is to you.

Tomorrow is irreplaceable.

Because this life,

This moment,

This body that carries you,

All of it is a strange,

Beautiful gift.

And we should be grateful for gifts.

Not because you should,

Not because anyone told you to,

But because you finally see it.

Because you allow your heart to feel how precious everything truly is.

And maybe,

If you let it,

Gratitude will do something quiet within you.

It will teach you to love more deeply.

And it will teach you how to live like the great ones.

Before we finish,

I'd like to take a few moments to settle into a gentle meditation.

Wherever you are,

Walking,

Sitting,

Waiting,

Resting,

Let your body arrive a little more fully.

If it feels natural,

Take a slow breath in with me now.

And breathe out.

Let the shoulders soften.

Let the jaw loosen.

Let the breath find its own rhythm.

And now,

Bring your attention to something simple in your life.

Something small,

Almost ordinary,

That you notice almost every day.

It might be the warmth of your clothes,

The steadiness of the ground beneath your feet,

The kindness of someone's voice that you know,

Or simply the breath moving in and out.

But pick one.

And now,

Let yourself acknowledge it.

With no effort.

Not with forced emotion.

Just a soft inner yes.

As if you're saying,

I notice you.

Thank you.

Allow your awareness to widen.

Let it touch the people,

The animals,

The food,

The plants,

The water,

The fire,

Everything that has shaped your day.

The ones you love.

The ones who passed by you for a moment.

And those you see but never met.

The ones who grow your food,

Clean your streets,

Carry your mail,

Care for your community,

Sings in a choir,

And you're listening and they don't even know that you're there.

See if you can feel a quiet thread connecting you to all of this.

A sense of shared life.

Shared breath.

On the same earth.

If it feels right,

Breathe in with a sense of receiving,

And breathe out with a sense of offering.

Receiving what life gives you,

And offering your presence and gratitude back to the world.

And now if you haven't done already,

Place a hand over your heart,

And feel the gentle beating.

Life is happening within you.

Every moment.

Not asking for anything in return.

Let gratitude fill you up softly,

Like a warm light filling a room.

Just a simple human thankfulness for being alive and awake.

And as we bring this meditation to a close,

You might ask yourself,

What in my life is asking to be seen with gratitude today?

Let the images and memories roll through your mind like a film,

Like a movie.

And become aware of all the moments you missed.

But also these are all the moments that has true potential.

Because already today,

And ongoing,

You don't have to miss them anymore.

You've seen it now.

Seen that this is worth your gratitude.

Why haven't I been grateful before?

It's a beautiful feeling.

I hope you feel it.

And I truly hope that you can go on with more gratitude for everything that goes on inside you and around you.

We really shouldn't take it for granted.

This life.

This gift.

Thank you.