Hello and welcome to today's meditation.
Let's begin by taking a deep inhale through the nose,
Filling yourself up with gratitude for showing up today,
And taking this time for yourself.
And exhale from the mouth,
Letting that feeling grow.
Continuing now with a conscious breath,
Breathing in gratitude,
And exhaling,
Letting it grow.
Before we close our eyes,
I want you to focus on one object in the room you're in,
Any object you see,
And begin to notice all the elements of this object.
What is it made of?
How big or small is it?
Can you notice any textures or colors?
Begin to think about the journey of this object,
From the person who thought of it and dreamed it into existence,
To the materials that were grown from the earth were made to build it,
To the workers who put it together,
The people who managed the store that sold it to you,
To you who found this very object to be placed in this very room.
Now gently close your eyes or keep a soft gaze in front of you,
Keeping this object and its journey at the forefront of your mind.
Breathe in gratitude for each and every person,
Place,
Or thing that brought this object to you.
Filling yourself with a sense of loving-kindness for the effort that went into this.
And exhale,
Sending that gratitude out for all to feel,
Seeing it as ribbons of light that travel in time and space to greet each person or place with your immense gratitude.
We're going to let this light continue to glow as we stay with a conscious breath and shift to bring to mind a person you are grateful for.
This could be someone you know or someone you appreciate that you've never met.
Bring them into your mind's eye and begin to list what you appreciate about them.
Why do you appreciate these qualities so much?
How do they support you?
Filling yourself with a sense of gratitude for this person and all they do for you.
As you continue with your conscious breath,
On every inhale,
I want you to see that ribbon of light swirling around you in a gentle and comforting embrace.
And on every exhale,
Send your gratitude out to this person,
Moving that ribbon of light,
That ribbon of thanks and appreciation to them.
And watch the way the ribbon connects you loosely through your thanks,
A thread of gratitude and connection in swirling,
Beautiful light.
Begin to expand this appreciation out to everyone and thing who made this person who they are today.
This person's parents,
Their teachers,
The son they've played in,
The experiences that shaped them.
Spend a few moments now going through this journey.
Again,
Inhaling,
Making that ribbon of light and appreciation stronger.
And exhaling,
Sending your gratitude to each person,
Place or thing through the ribbons of light.
Allow this light to continue to glow as we shift our minds to the next level of gratitude practice.
From a person we're grateful for,
To something we experience every day without much thought.
Begin to picture what you've eaten today.
If you haven't yet eaten today,
It could be your cup of coffee,
Or even a glass of water you drank,
Or what you had yesterday.
When that comes to mind,
Begin again to chart the path of this meal from coming into existence all the way to your table.
Say a silent thank you to everyone or thing that had a hand in bringing this nourishment to your body.
The farmers who planted and thoughtfully grew the seeds,
The sun and rain for encouraging growth,
The drivers who took the food to the store to be ready to be sold,
Even the person who made the car it took to get them there.
Send gratitude to the workers who stocked the shelves,
The appliances or utensils that helped you to make your food,
And who you've shared this food with.
Follow this journey and really emphasize the thank you at each step of the process that brought this food or drink to your table.
Taking a few moments to walk through it,
Breathing in gratitude,
Allowing your ribbon of light to grow brighter,
And sending it out through your exhale,
Allowing it to connect you to the earth,
To the people,
To the experiences that brought this nourishment to you.
Allow this light to continue to glow,
Illuminating your gratitude as we shift to the next level of gratitude practice,
From something we experience every day,
To greater challenges and difficulties that will hold space to cultivate gratitude within.
Begin to bring to mind an event that happened today or this week that you haven't enjoyed.
Piles of laundry,
Messy dishes in the sink,
Challenges at work.
See a swirling black smoke begin to move around the difficulties of the week.
As you see the smoke swirl,
Imagine infusing each ribbon of smoke with a sense of gratitude,
Shifting your perspective to turn this difficulty around.
How lucky that piles of laundry mean you have enough warm clothes.
The dirty dishes in the sink mean a nourishing meal.
Challenges at work mean a job that pays for what you need in life.
Breathe deeply and dig deep to see what you can shift.
Begin to see those ribbons of smoke being infused with light till those light ribbons circle around all the difficulties and challenges,
Infusing them with gratitude,
And literally illuminating them in a new light.
In our final phase of gratitude practice today,
We're going to connect our loving-kindness,
Our ribbons of light throughout time and space to raise our vibration and surround all those who need it in an embrace of gratitude and glowing energy.
Take any emotion you've had today,
Happiness,
Sadness,
Anger,
Frustration,
Silliness,
Joy,
Whatever it is,
And examine how this emotion has served you.
Did it help you to move along in your day?
Is it a sign trying to teach you something or help you to move through pain?
There are no positive or negative emotions.
They're merely indications of our experience.
Bring this emotion to your mind's eye now and cultivate a sense of gratitude for it and whatever purpose it served in your journey today.
Think of every single person in the world who has ever experienced this same emotion and feel gratitude for this unique and collective experience of being human,
Of the ability for all of us to experience this range of emotions that connect and unite us in our humanity.
Take deep again with gratitude,
Inhaling and allowing the ribbon of light of thanks to shine so brightly it feels like your whole body is buzzing from this light and exhale.
Send the ribbon out to every person who has experienced this emotion,
The earth they've stepped on,
The sun they felt warm their faces,
The rain that has cleared their fog and feel this limitless connection to others,
To the earth and to yourself.
Spending a few moments here embodying this beautiful light crisscrossing across the globe with gratitude,
Appreciation and thanks elevating your vibration in loving kindness.
Gratitude is not a mindset,
It's a choice we can make and every moment offers us an opportunity to choose again.
It's a memory stored in the heart rather than the mind,
A connective thread that allows us to see the world from a more kind and understanding perspective.
It forces us to soften and to think differently when we're in a state of appreciation by just listing one thing we're grateful for before we get out of bed each morning or go to bed at night we can start to rewire our brains to be more empathetic,
More in a learning mindset and cultivate a sense of kindness and calm.
So as we begin to close and seal in this golden light of gratitude we've created here today I want you to take it as a challenge throughout the week to cultivate gratitude in difficult moments and in good ones too.
May gratitude allow you to transform common days into thanksgivings,
Routine jobs into joy and change ordinary moments into blissful opportunities that await.
Thank you for joining today with all my gratitude.
Namaste.
