Hi,
I'm Rachel Redd.
Welcome to this gratitude meditation.
Your little pause in the day to breathe,
Reflect,
And come back to the magic of now.
Take a moment to get comfortable.
You can sit,
Lay down,
Wrap yourself in a blanket burrito,
Whatever helps you feel at ease.
And if your shoulders are shrugging like they're trying to become earrings right now,
Let them drop.
You're safe.
You made it.
You are here.
Let's take a few deep breaths together.
Inhale slow and steady.
Exhale,
Let something soften.
Again,
Inhale through the nose.
Exhale out your mouth like a sigh.
One more,
Just like that.
Let's land.
Feel the air entering your body like a gentle tide,
And leaving like a wave pulling away from the shore.
Notice what part of your body is touching the ground beneath you.
Notice the temperature of the air.
Notice that no matter what's going on around you,
Right here in this breath,
You are safe.
There's nothing you need to do right now.
Nothing to fix,
Figure out,
Or control.
You're allowed to simply be.
And being is enough.
So let's just for a moment shrink the to-do list,
The inbox drama,
The world's chaos,
And let our attention land in today.
This breath.
This moment.
Because that's where your power is,
Right here.
Let's gently shift our attention to what's already good.
Maybe not perfect,
Maybe not ideal,
But good.
Starting perhaps with your body.
And yeah,
Maybe there are things that ache or creak,
But your body brought you here.
Let that be enough.
Feel your breath move.
Feel your heart beating.
Say thank you to this body.
Now turn your attention outward,
Noticing the space around you,
Maybe the way the light touches the walls.
Notice any sounds you hear.
Maybe there are birds singing,
Maybe there's a hum of traffic,
Or maybe there's just silence.
See if you can slow down and create awareness of this present moment.
Because in the details of this moment,
There's quiet generosity.
So give yourself the space to notice.
Now think of a person or a moment that brought you even a flicker of joy this week.
Could have been maybe somebody who texted you,
Maybe a stranger who held the door.
It could have been maybe a dog with his head out the window looking way too happy for a Monday,
Anything at all.
Bring that moment or moments,
If you can think of multiple,
Recalling them,
Recalling the details,
And say thank you.
Now think of something about yourself you can appreciate.
Perhaps your resilience,
Your quirkiness,
The ability for you to live through a hundred percent of your hardest days.
Take a breath,
Honor that.
You've come far.
Let's sit in reflection for the next few moments.
I'll offer you a couple of thoughts starters.
So one of them is,
I'm grateful I woke up today because,
Fill in the blank.
I'm grateful I woke up today because,
Blank.
It might be so simple.
I am grateful that I woke up today.
Continue breathing.
Notice what's happening in your body.
And consider the next reflection,
Which is,
One small thing I often overlook but deeply appreciate is,
Bring your awareness back to your breath and consider the next question.
Something I'm proud of myself for is,
Something I'm proud of myself for is,
Something I'm proud of myself for is,
Again,
Take your awareness back to your breath and let that exercise go.
If nothing came to you,
No problem.
Maybe something will come later.
Now I want to ask you a question that my mentor once asked me,
And it stopped me in my tracks.
It turned my day around.
Are you ready?
The question was,
What if you woke up today with only the things you expressed gratitude for yesterday?
What if you woke up today with only the things you expressed gratitude for yesterday?
Let that land.
What would be here?
What would be missing?
More importantly,
What are you carrying forward into the future?
What are you carrying forward into tomorrow?
In other words,
Who or what do you want to remember to notice today?
Because this moment,
This very breath is a gift and you're here for it.
Start to slowly bring your awareness back to the room around you.
Wiggle your fingers,
Roll your shoulders,
Soften your jaw,
And let this feeling,
This calm,
This peacefulness,
This sense of abundance,
Take up space in the rest of your day.
And maybe this feeling turns into action like sending a thank you text.
Maybe you take a slow breath before a meeting.
Or maybe you enjoy a bit of sunshine.
You don't have to force anything.
Just notice what's already good.
And let's close with this mantra.
Inhale,
I am grateful for what is.
Exhale,
I am open to what comes.
Inhale,
I am grateful for what is.
I am open to what comes.
One final breath in together.
And out.
And hey,
If you forget to practice gratitude later,
Don't worry,
I probably will too.
Remember you can always begin again.
Thanks for meditating with me.
