Gratitude Meditation There is increasing research to show the benefits of gratitude on both our mental and physical health.
There are lots of ways of incorporating gratitude into our lives.
Taking the time,
Like you have now,
To practice is one such way.
Like many things in life,
You'll get the most benefit by engaging in the practice regularly.
Let's begin by assuming a comfortable posture,
Either on a chair or a cushion,
Or in any position that feels right to you.
Allow your eyes to close or soften your gaze.
We'll start with a few moments of breath awareness practice.
Focusing on the breath wherever it feels most vivid for you.
Try not to control the breath or change it in any way.
Allow the breath to be just as it is.
Letting go of as much tension as possible.
I invite you now to think about yesterday.
It might have been the best day in your life,
Or the worst.
Most likely it had some good bits and some not so good bits.
Think about yesterday.
When you woke up,
Was there anything to be grateful for?
Were you lucky enough to wake up in bed,
In a house?
Not everyone can say that.
I hope that you had clothes to change into,
Clean water to drink and food to eat.
Can you take a moment to see whether you can feel grateful for those gifts?
It's okay if you can't feel grateful.
The exercise is merely to see whether reflecting on these things generates any feelings.
If it doesn't,
It doesn't.
What else happened in your day?
Were there any nice people or animals in your day?
If so,
Think about them.
What do you like about having them in your life?
And if there weren't any people like that in your life?
Like that yesterday,
Have there ever been?
Can you be grateful for the people you have had in your life?
Is it possible that there might be good people in your life in the future?
What did you do yesterday?
Was it a work day or a school day?
If it was,
Can you be grateful for having a job or the ability to gain education?
Even if you don't like having a job or being at school,
Is it possible to feel grateful to have these opportunities?
Again,
It's okay not to feel grateful.
If you had the day off,
Was there any aspect of the day that was good?
Maybe you got to sleep in,
Maybe you went for a walk,
Talked to a friend,
Watched your favourite television show.
Maybe most of the day was hard and unpleasant,
But was there any part where something was good?
Can you reflect on that now?
Is it possible to be grateful for that positive aspect of your day?
What about today?
Has anything gone okay so far?
Is there anything to look forward to later today?
What about right now?
Is it possible to feel grateful that you've taken the time to meditate?
Focusing on the good every day doesn't mean we ignore the bad or don't strive to make things better.
Focusing on the good reminds us that there is good and the more we can focus and hold on to that,
The happier that will be.
I hope that this meditation has served you in some way.
