Welcome to day 10 of Developing Resilience.
Gratitude is an affirmation that there are good things in the world,
Gifts and benefits I've received.
And I recognize that the source of this goodness are outside of myself.
I acknowledge that other people,
The Supreme Being and Mother Nature gave me many gifts,
Big and small,
To help me achieve the goodness in my life.
An attitude of gratitude makes one more resilient.
Now close your eyes and think of the good things in your life,
Some of which you may have taken for granted at times.
If you have food in your refrigerator,
Clothes on your body,
A roof over your head and a place to sleep,
You are richer than 75% of the entire world.
If you have money in your wallet,
A little change and have traveled to places you've dreamed of,
You are amongst the top 18% of the world's wealthy people.
If you are alive today with more health than illness,
You are more blessed than the million people who will not survive this week and die.
If you can actually hear this message and understand it,
You are more fortunate than two billion people in the world who cannot hear,
Suffer mental retardation or don't have access to such information.
Now recall the people that have been a blessing in your life.
Start with the innermost circle of people,
Your parents,
Your partner and relatives.
How have they contributed to your life?
Extend that circle to your friends.
How have they contributed to your life?
Extend that out further to your classmates or coworkers.
Extend that out even further into the community of for-service providers who make your life flow smoothly and safely without having to struggle so that you can give more time to things that you enjoy.
Include the farmers who grow your food and the people who work to bring safe drinking water to your home.
Extend it out even further to those heroes,
Dead or alive,
Who fought for the liberties and rights that you enjoy in your life,
Many of which you may have taken for granted.
Now extend your gratitude to Mother Earth who shelters you,
Feeds and keeps you warm.
While there is so much anxiety over the spread of disease,
There are many blessings hidden within it.
Thank you Mother Nature for stopping us in our tracks.
The Earth was begging us to look at the pollution for a very long time.
We didn't listen.
Thank you for all the fear.
It has been a global disease for years,
But not many of us wanted to face it.
But now we have to face it and learn to embrace it with love and support of our community.
Thank you for making us appreciate the luxury we lived in,
Abundance,
Freedom and health and realizing we were taking it all for granted.
Thank you for finally letting us understand that we are all connected.
Thank you for the unity between all of us.
We knew the world had to change.
Thank you for helping us undermine everything else and giving us the chance to build the world from the beginning.
This virus is a part of us.
It's in us and around us.
It connected us all.
With so many blessings to count in your life,
Notice how you feel right now.
This attitude of gratitude will change how you show up in the world.
Now get up and go share this.
Let your light give hope to someone struggling with darkness.
Thank you.
Join me tomorrow for a meditation on dissolving anxiety and fear.
Until then,
Be well.
