Gratitude Meditation For Community

In this guided meditation, we will imagine various people in our community, those we know and those we don't know, and recognize their humanity by thanking them for being a part of our world.

Warning: You will be filled with love and gratitude by the end of this meditation.

Transcript

Let's begin.

Take a deep breath in and a full breath out.

If you're seated,

Try to sit with a tall spine,

Maybe even against a wall,

Or perhaps you want to lay down flat.

Your eyes can be open or closed.

If open,

Try to have a soft downward gaze,

And if they are closed,

Try to look up at the space in between your eyes while they're closed.

Try to remain still for the duration of this meditation.

Now that I said that,

You're likely fidgety.

That's okay.

Adjust your clothes or your hair,

Whatever you need to do,

And then take a deep breath and come back to stillness.

That's the whole practice,

And it's just a practice.

There's no need to take it so seriously.

Perfection isn't real,

So don't aim for that.

Let's just focus on our breath.

Notice what you notice about your inhales and exhales.

Be curious about your breath.

Where do you feel it the most?

Is it the tip of your nostril as the air moves in and out?

Do you feel it most in the throat,

The chest,

The belly?

Do those parts of the body rise and fall with the breath?

There's no judgment.

Just notice.

After a few more noticing breaths,

Let's start to lengthen the inhales and the exhales.

Let's exaggerate the breath a bit more so we do feel it all the way down into the belly,

Inflating as we inhale and deflating as we exhale.

Take one more deep inhale and complete exhale,

And then return to a natural rhythm.

Allow the breath to move on its own without trying to control it.

Now let's take a moment to focus on our community and send out gratitude to the people,

Places,

And things that make our community an amazing place to live,

Work,

And play.

First,

Think of someone who helped you be here today,

Literally here in this meditation,

Or here in this place in your life.

Someone who helped you become who you are and allowed you to be where you are today.

Visualize this person in your mind.

See their face,

Their eyes,

Their smile.

Feel the love they bring into your life.

Inhale love.

Exhale gratitude.

Now try to visualize someone you don't know well,

But perhaps someone you see now and then in your community,

Someone you pass by in the grocery store,

Or while waiting for the bus or filling your car with gas.

Maybe it's the barista at your favorite coffee place,

Or your neighbor down the street that you see but don't know personally.

Try to visualize their face,

Their eyes,

Their smile.

Recognize their humanity.

Without knowing them,

Try to feel the same love you feel for the other person that you visualized.

Inhale love.

Exhale gratitude.

With gratitude,

Let's remember the care and labor of previous generations of elders who came before us,

From our grandparents to their grandparents and their grandparents on and on.

Picture them,

An entire community over centuries who helped make today possible.

Imagine them filling your vision as far as you can see into the horizon.

I'm sitting on land today that belonged to the Lenape,

A tribe of Native Americans who lived here for 10,

000 years.

They took care of and honored the land I sit on today.

Imagine the people who once inhabited the land that you are on right now.

Try to see their face,

Imagine their eyes,

Their smile.

Recognize their humanity.

Inhale love.

Exhale gratitude.

With gratitude,

Call to mind the thousands of people in your community who have worked hard,

Some without you knowing it at all,

To make your life easier,

Safer,

And more pleasant.

Let's thank each of them in our mind,

And we'll start to visualize each of them standing around us.

After I list each one,

Perhaps you think,

Thank you,

In your mind.

Let's start with all the teachers who educate the community,

From the littles to the big kids and everyone in between,

Including yoga teachers and meditation teachers who help us move inward and learn to be the best versions of ourselves.

Thank you.

To all the creative artists who make art or music or plays or poems or films to entertain and uplift us and provide opportunities for us to laugh,

To think,

And to enjoy our community.

Thank you.

To the local restaurant owners and wait staff who serve us,

Nourish us,

And provide a place for socialization within our community.

Thank you.

To the farmers who plant,

Grow,

And harvest our food.

Thank you.

To our neighbors who work as truck or delivery drivers who spend hours on the road delivering the food and goods we need to the local stores or sometimes right to our front door.

Thank you.

To the mechanics who maintain those transportation vehicles,

From our own cars to big trucks and trains that keep our world moving every day,

And the teams of engineers who made the roads and the railways even possible.

Thank you.

To the trash collectors in our community who pick up discarded items right from our houses and businesses and help keep our town clean.

Thank you.

To the grocery store workers and clerks who stock our shelves to ensure we have the items we need,

And the cashiers who help check us out with a smile.

Thank you.

To the baristas at all the coffee houses who make our favorite drinks with love.

Thank you.

To all those in the IT world maintaining the servers so that we can get and send email and access the internet easily,

Having Wi-Fi available.

Thank you.

To the construction workers hard at work in any type of weather building new homes for our newest neighbors to join our community.

Thank you.

To the local business owners who give their time and energy to create goods and services that we need or want,

Always showing up to support the community.

Thank you.

To all our community servants who work in non-profits who give their time,

Energy,

Money,

And talents,

Whatever they can,

To serve and volunteer to provide what is needed most in our community.

Thank you.

To doctors and nurses giving their all to provide medical care to all those in need.

Thank you.

To all first responders including fire,

Police,

Emergency responders who serve our community every single day in so many ways and give us all the freedom to sit in meditation feeling safe as we do.

Thank you.

To all the people we barely know and millions more that we'll never meet who all make a huge impact on the blessings of our lives.

To each and every one of these amazing people who help create and sustain our communities and to the many more not mentioned here.

Thank you.

Take a deep breath in and a full breath out.

Inhale love and exhale gratitude.

Sit for a moment and savor this feeling of gratitude.

Take some more deep breaths in and out.

And when you're ready,

You can open your eyes.

And perhaps you consider writing a thank you note to some of the people who came up in your mind today.

Thank you.