All The Small Things

Ecclesiastes reminds us that life is not only made of grand accomplishments or profound moments. “Go, eat your bread with joy, and drink your wine with a glad heart.” This meditation invites you to notice the small delights, simple pleasures, and everyday mercies that are already here. Bring to mind a meal you enjoyed, a cool breeze, sunlight through a window, laughter, music, a comfortable chair, a good conversation, a favorite smell, a moment of rest. Let each one arrive without needing to justify or improve it. Savor what you can. Receive the ordinary gifts of being alive—not as rewards for having done enough, but as reasons to rejoice while you are here.

Transcript

Let's begin with a bell. Breathe and stretch, Breathe and stretch, Yawn if you need to. Coming into relaxation, Coming into a deeper space. Settling in, Getting quiet. Getting still. Making time for yourself. Feeding yourself so you can give to others in turn another time. Just relaxing. Giving up and quitting on the world outside. As Bogart says. . . What happened before is ancient history, And what happens next is not something you can plan for. So just enjoy the moment. It's all you really have, Just right now, Yourself, Your breath. This time together. Where do you feel your breath? Your throat? Your chest? Your nose? What do you think about it? Is it shallow? Do you want to make it deeper? I'm going to slow down. This is your time, You control it. If you breathe in more deeply and exhale more slowly, You might experience a deeper relaxation or focus or attention. That might help. And help bring you into a more peaceful place. A meditation practice is also joyful. Maybe you want to smile. Acknowledge a moment. Quality in yourself. A gratitude just for doing this. Play with the skin on your face, Just adjust it and soften it. Your shoulders and neck. Can you relax them anymore? Breathing in deeply, Exhaling slowly. Soften and disengage your arms. Let your stomach fall. Breathing in and out. Your hips get heavy. Legs get soft. Feet and toes wiggle and then are still. Distresting. Nothing to do, Nowhere to be, Just using your breath as this gentle cue to keep returning to this moment, This breath, This place. And the breath can help you stretch out any sore spots, Tightness. In deeply, Out slowly. Just slowing down, Getting quiet, Not silent. Still not unmoving. Gentle with yourself, Maybe smiling. This meditation is for all the small things. Small mercies and small joys. Little awarenesses during the day that make you smile. Song in your head. An old joke that comes up. The laughter of a child or an older person. A deep smile beyond the physical. Life is certainly hard, As it's challenges, Undoubtedly. Accept and acknowledge that pain and suffering are real and will always be with us. But there are small and wondrous things all around us. Let something drift to mind that is full of joy, Light, And brightness. A child of food. Good nap? Long walk flower. Let something come up, And then. . . Let it stay in your mind for a few moments, Just see how it makes you feel. Purple flower that blooms all of its own. A kind word you received two days ago. Whatever it is, Just let it come up and. . . Dwell in it and on it. How does it make you feel? So beautiful. Just holding on to that moment. Returning to that image, That sense again and again. You get distracted, As we all do. Come back. Breathing in deeply and out slowly. Keep breathing. Feel your last breath. Maybe you wanna stay with that one joy, Maybe you think of another. Something funny you saw. Something in the news that was celebratory. Sweet moment with a spouse or other loved one. Let something else arise or stick with the first sense and image. Cultivating it, Noticing how it makes you feel, Noticing where you feel it in your body. What you sense, What you see within. Coming in, Breathing in deeply, Out slowly. You get distracted. We all get distracted. You come back. You cleave to one of those images, One of those experiences, Or you just breathe. You listen to my voice. We're just sitting. Or lying down. Just relaxing, Maybe a smile is growing. Maybe stick with one of those earlier images or you let something else come up, Perhaps unbidden. A good book. Someone beautiful or handsome on your path every day. A cute pet. Just let them come up. Let those small beauties and small mercies and little wonders fill you. How do they make you feel? In what ways do you feel good about them? Little delights. Keep calling them up, We'll keep going together, But I'll say less. And you just let yourself drift among things that you enjoy, That make you smile. I'll keep cueing you to come back. We all get distracted. You can use. One of the things you've already thought of or let something else come up that brings you joy. All the small things. Keep breathing into those moments. Happiness and delight. Maybe you return to an older experience, Something new, Something else comes up. Turn your focus to what is good. And what is kind. Happy and true. What makes you smile? Breathe out all the sadnesses and sorrows and breathe in joys and delights small and maybe large. Keep breathing in deeply, Out slowly. Small mercies. And precious blessings.