Give Thanks & Celebrate Your Life: Gratitude Meditation

Let's take time to celebrate all that we are, all that we create and all that we bring to the world, our work and our relationships. Taking time to tune into what nourishes us - breath, the natural world, laughter, hope - is fuel for living joyously and in open dialogue with life itself, which in turn opens us up to experience more joy and more to celebrate!

Transcript

Welcome to today's meditation.

We're going to celebrate today in the spirit of gratitude,

In the spirit of positive thinking,

In the spirit of the new year and the new decade,

Just taking some time out to really look and feel into all that is going well,

All that is moving in the right direction in our lives,

All of our gains and wins and achievements.

Recognising too the effort that we bring to our lives,

Our work,

Our relationships.

And seeing how those things come back to nourish and fulfil the meaning of our lives,

Without which life wouldn't be worth living.

As always finding a comfortable position in the body,

Either seated,

Lying down.

Comfort is king.

We're prioritising comfort so that we can settle into this guided meditation with more openness,

More joy,

More celebration.

Once you've found your position,

Close the eyes and just relax the muscles in the face.

You know there are nearly 80 muscles in the face.

Let's just soften into the features and I want you straight away to bring a smile to the face.

Notice as you turn the corners of your mouth upwards,

How the heart lifts,

Sings and opens.

Continuing to relax into your body.

Relaxing into your skin and your sense of yourself.

Let's just take a few conscious breaths here.

It might be the first time that you've done this today so really be generous as you feel the front and back of your torso with your inhale.

And let the body relax a little more on your exhale.

And we might just begin by celebrating this breath,

This moment.

The intricate mechanisms that go on in the body to support each and every breath.

The exchange of oxygen and nutrients.

The way in which the body assists in bringing waste down to the body on the exhale.

Just wow.

Marvelling,

Celebrating.

The fact that in this moment too your body is probably digesting food and metabolising its energy into the cells.

The fact that as you listen to my voice and tune into the body you're allowing all different neurons and neural pathways to be lit up.

Without any effort,

Without any attention,

Let's celebrate.

Just let yourself bask in that wonder for a moment.

The wonder of the human body taking care of your life,

Your health and everything that you do.

And you might particularly if you've been recovering from any injury or illness celebrate your recovery.

Just wow.

Keep smiling.

Keep celebrating.

Lovely.

From here let's turn our attention to the people that we love.

And celebrate long,

New,

Long-distant relationships.

There are so many people who contribute to the flourishing and well-being of our lives with their wisdom,

Their laughter,

Their support,

Their counsel,

Their intelligence,

Their sense of fun or mischief.

People with whom we've shared intimate moments,

Sadness,

Joy,

Dances,

Travel,

All sorts.

People whose presence really lights and illuminates our lives.

And as well as being grateful,

Deeply grateful in the heart,

You can celebrate feeling again the face lifting,

Celebrating the longevity of your connection to people.

Celebrating their birthdays,

Your anniversaries.

And if they are a newer friend,

Celebrating the chance that brought them into your life,

The circumstances that ensured that your paths crossed.

Wow.

So lucky.

From here let's celebrate the abundance of the natural world,

The food that we get to eat on a daily basis that has been grown,

Made,

Created,

Produced,

Shipped,

Freighted,

Packed and delivered to you.

Celebrating all the people that go into making that possible.

Celebrating how much the earth gives to us,

Again in support of our lives,

In support of our health and well-being.

Maybe even celebrating the creativity that you get to enjoy when you bring food together and you prepare a recipe or cook through your own innovation,

Perhaps sharing it with the people that you love.

Celebrating that.

From here let's celebrate all of the efforts that we have made in our lives to overcome difficulty,

Pain or struggle.

Celebrate your ability to get up every day,

To tend to yourself,

To heal,

To nurture others,

To have the capacity and the will to live.

Celebrating hope and triumph and growth.

Celebrating the things that have made you stronger and wiser and stronger.

Keep smiling.

Celebrating the courage and tenacity of the human heart.

And even if you're not feeling this in this exact moment,

You can celebrate it in others and know that when you're ready to feel into those emotions,

You'll know.

For the time being,

If it's more helpful to you to celebrate other people bringing those qualities to your life,

Then celebrate those.

Now let's celebrate the water that surrounds us,

That fills our bodies,

That covers this planet,

That runs in rivers and creates waves across oceans and falls from the sky as rain,

Feeding and watering those plants that we rely on.

And let's celebrate the sun for shining a light,

For helping things to glisten,

For bringing warmth to our bones and vibrancy to colour around us.

And let's celebrate the air that we breathe that oxygenates the lungs and the cells and the blood.

Air that carries the smell and scent of wood smoke or perfume,

Flowers.

And let's celebrate the earth that we stand on,

In which we plant where we tend to nature,

The earth that we enjoy walking on and living on,

Which holds us.

Let's celebrate these things.

Okay,

Now let's celebrate all that we have become from the moment we were born and entered this world,

The journey we have taken,

The choices we have made,

Especially those that have supported us in a healthy,

Loving,

Positive direction,

Forgiving perhaps those less positive decisions we all make them.

Even those too they may have re-routed us somewhere beneficial in the long run.

Don't let yourself get too hung up on any details here but just allow yourself to celebrate all of the tests and challenges and trials of your own life.

All of those areas where you have bust through your own limited thinking and have proven to yourself your capacity to grow and succeed.

All of those exams that you have taken.

All of those walls that you have broken down.

Celebrating every time you overcame fear.

Celebrating every stranger that you have shown kindness to.

Celebrating every act of creativity and self-expression.

Celebrating every effort you have made to become a better person in this world.

Celebrating all the times that you got back up when you didn't believe that you ever could.

Celebrating the unique gifts that you bring to our world.

Celebrating the way in which you live.

And inspire others to live in alignment with themselves to do what's best.

And once again celebrating all of those people who have made your life possible.

The life that you're currently living.

That whole web of connected human life.

The people who have got you to where you are now.

And who are spurring you on to continue in your growth and your unique journey.

Just let yourself rest in this awareness.

Keeping that broad smile across the face.

Relaxing into the body.

And allowing the breath to flow naturally.

Noticing how it feels to be in the mind and body in this moment.

You might like to close your meditation by mentally repeating the words.

I celebrate my life and everything in it.

I celebrate my life and everything in it.

I celebrate my life and everything in it.

And bringing your hands together in a prayer position at the heart.

Take a final breath into the heart space.

And bow the head towards the heart and bow your head towards the heart.

Namaste.

Namaste.

Reviews

Thank you Ellie, I did the walking yoga kissing the ground and the lotus flower and the tea meditation yesterday with my daughter Kasha in Amsterdam. Your voice is soothing your presence is peaceful and you lovely white dog is beautiful. I am grieving for the loss of my beautiful big white dog whom I lost 10 days ago. My best friend he was nearly 12. My heart hurts. However I am here with my sensitive clever caring daughter and her partner who will help support. Proud of being her mother. I need some trauma support at present actually. Thank goodness for meditation and Insight Timer and all the incredible teachers who have taught me so much. Very grateful 🙏🏼🙏🏼❤️

Love this a lot! Very soothing voice. Thank you for reminding me of all beautiful aspects of my life. 💖

One of my favorite meditations, I come back to this one frequently, I always finish feeling joyous, greatful, and more in tune with those around me. Highly recommend

Absolutely beautiful meditation to end the day. Namaste 🙏

So grateful!!! This brougjt tears of Joy to my eres! Happy New Year!!

What a nice example of looking at a life from the “gain” mentality. I am feeling so grateful for all that I experienced and still have the ability to experience in my life. Thank you.

A beautiful joyful meditation helping me celebrate my life and all human being. Thank you for this offering ☺️✨🙏 I am filled with love joy and happiness

What a beautiful heart opening meditation. 5/5 Thank you 🙏

What a lovely gratitude meditation! I decided to do this meditation to start my birthday...it was just what I needed and more. Looking forward to doing this meditation more often to celebrate life.

This was absolutely PERFECT👌🏽 for today and exactly what I needed to start my morning. Beautifully done, between the light non-intrusive music in the background, soothing voice and words of “celebration”. Will keep you grounded and grateful 🙏🏽😌💖. ~Namaste 🌺

I loved the concept of celebrating!! I don’t often think about it! So glad I completed this meditation!!

Amazing to know how to celebrate 🙏🏻

Beautiful celebration! Self-enriching meditation played on my birthday but will be used in the days to come as a continued celebration of life. Namaste 🙏🏾

I appreciate how you incorporate physical and emotional elements with personal history and nature. This is beautiful. Thank you.

A beautiful, positive focus, weaving the whole of my life in with the world and all my experiences to create a tapestry that is me - and it is all cause to celebrate, even the hard parts, even the darkness. It is all necessary. Thank you 🙏🏻

What a powerful meditation! Thank you 🙏
It’s one I will definitely share❤️

Wonderful meditation experience!! Thank you for this !