Welcome to this stoic gratitude meditation.
I invite you to reflect on no matter how difficult this moment feels for you,
Or how unhappy you might be,
You are living the dream life of someone else.
And this someone else might be a person that lives right now with you on this planet.
Think about all the people that don't have things that you have and maybe take for granted.
Health,
Friends,
Loved ones,
Enough money to pay for bills and food,
Roof over your head.
There are people that don't have any of that,
People that are terribly sick and alone,
And without enough money to sustain themselves and their loved ones.
Not only that,
There are people in the past that would agree that you are living like a king right now.
Think of the fact that toilet paper has been invented only recently,
Not even kings and queens had that privilege in the past.
Or how you have a house with heating and running water.
It's really precious for someone from 300 years ago.
Reflect on that.
How people in the past would happily exchange place with you.
And not only that,
You from the past wanted the life that you have now.
For example,
As a child maybe you wanted to grow up,
You couldn't wait.
Or as a teenager you really really wanted money but you couldn't work maybe.
Or think about all the things that you wanted and that you reached.
Now,
For instance,
Job,
Profession or position in life,
Spouse,
House,
Car.
Maybe the country where you live.
Once in the past you were dreaming of these things and you believed that you would have been happy by getting those things.
You are living the dream life of your past self.
And it's easy to forget that.
And not just the dream life of your past self but also of your future self.
Think about when you will be too old to go out,
Do groceries,
Work.
Or even when you will be so old and so weak that you can't even stand up,
Brush your teeth.
By the way,
You're not going to have teeth probably.
And you will look back at this time and you will miss this life,
This exact life that you're living now.
You are living the dream life of someone else,
Of someone else in the past.
And of yourself from the past and the future,
Young you and older you.
And you know,
It's easy to forget about this.
We look up to people that have more money,
More success than us.
Maybe they have a better spouse.
And we forget to look at the other side.
It's true,
Other people have more maybe.
But there are so many,
Many,
Many people that have less than you.
And you have to balance that out.
You have to reflect on that.
Especially on the fact that you live the dream life of your self from the past and from the future.
And notice how these reflections make you feel now.
Maybe you feel lucky,
Blessed.
And how you want to appreciate more your life.
This doesn't mean that you don't have to fight injustice.
If there is someone that has too much than everyone else,
Maybe that's a problem,
Yes.
Inequality is not good.
But don't forget to reflect on how blessed you are.
And if you want you can keep practicing or you can finish this practice.
Either way,
During the day,
Entertain these flickering thoughts.
Just reflect on,
Oh,
This activity that I'm doing,
One day I will miss this.
Even something maybe now unpleasant like doing taxes or washing the dishes.
I will be too old to do this.
I will miss this.
Or reflect on how as a child you really wanted a car and now you can drive a car.
How amazing that is.
And notice how it impacts your mood to entertain these kind of thoughts.
Wish you good luck.
