Welcome to this gratitude practice.
My name is Glenda.
Thank you for taking the time to meditate with me today.
Making sure that you are completely comfortable,
Gently close your eyes and breathe in and out.
Nice easy natural breaths.
Loosen your shoulders,
Unclench your jaw and breathe.
Are you familiar with the gratitude chain?
We can practice it together right now.
Take a moment to visualize a favorite upholstered chair.
Be grateful for that chair and that you have it.
If we go back to the beginning of its manufacture,
We can follow a long chain of gratitude.
Try to visualize what happens at each step in the chain.
See and feel gratitude for the people who harvested the wood from the forest.
See and feel gratitude for the person who designed and drew the plans to build your chair.
See and feel gratitude for the person who used their creativity to design the print or texture of the fabric.
See them at work.
Say thank you to the woodcutters and the sewers,
To the truck drivers who transported the materials to the furniture manufacturer and to those who delivered the finished chair to the store that purchased it.
Be grateful for the people who work in the warehouse where it was kept,
For the store buyer,
The clerks and sales people.
Feel gratitude for those who helped you get it to your home and into your house.
It's so easy to only see the chair and not see everything that was involved in getting it to you.
We can follow this chain for everything that we have and do.
If we take the time to think about it,
There are so many people to be grateful for.
Visualize one of your favorite foods.
Take a moment to follow that chain and say thank you in your heart to all those who helped get it to you.
What you do matters.
Whatever you do,
Whatever your work,
You are somewhere in a chain.
You are the one who helped get it to you.
What you do matters.
Whatever you do,
Whatever your work,
You are somewhere in a chain that makes a difference to people.
Sometimes it's visible to us and sometimes it's not,
But the difference,
The ripple is there.
When you're feeling angry,
Unhappy,
Unappreciated or frustrated,
It can be especially challenging to avoid having it color everything that you do.
When you're in the midst of those emotions,
Feeling grateful or feeling like you matter can be difficult.
Nevertheless,
Take heart.
Somewhere,
Someone has benefited from what you do.
We don't always see the end result,
But you've added to their life.
Maybe someone else can do what you do,
But everyone has their own little twist or unique sparkle in how they do it.
Not only what you do matters,
You matter.
Begin to gently follow your breath.
Today we'll use the mantra,
So Hum.
If you like,
You can begin with silently repeating so on the in breath,
Hum on the out breath.
If it gets mixed up,
That's okay.
You'll just repeat it over and over.
When you realize that your mind is wandering,
Just bring it back to the mantra,
So Hum.
There will be a gentle drifting back and forth between your thoughts and the mantra.
When you hear me ring the chimes,
Continue to sit quietly with your eyes closed.
So Hum.
So Hum.
So Hum.
So Hum.
So Hum.
So Hum.
So Hum.
So Hum.
So Hum.
So Hum.
So Hum.
So Hum.
So Hum.
So Hum.
So Hum.
So Hum.
So Hum.
So Hum.
So Hum.
So Hum.
So Hum.
Release the mantra and let the peace and stillness settle in.
Before we finish,
Think of just one thing or someone in your life that you feel grateful for right now.
Let that be your focus for the next few moments.
Take some nice deep breaths and slowly feel yourself come back into your space.
When you feel ready,
Gently open your eyes.
I'm so grateful that you joined me for this meditation today.
I'll see you on the path.
Namaste.
