Gratitude is the foundation of a fulfilling and happy life and is our natural expression when we are fully awake.
So let us wake up.
I invite you to find a comfortable seated position.
It can be seated on a chair or a bench or cushion on the floor.
Finding a posture that is upright,
Alert and comfortable.
Allowing the eyes to close or remain half open in a slight downward gaze.
Then do a quick scan of the body,
Releasing any obvious tension.
Relaxing the brow line.
Unclenching the jaw.
Resting the shoulders down away from your ears.
Softening the hands.
Opening and expanding the heart space to receive whatever arises with kindness.
Now begin to connect to the breath,
Bringing your attention to wherever it is most nourishing.
Perhaps it's the cool,
Tingling sensation in the back of your throat on the inhale,
The warmth on the upper lip on the exhale,
Or the rise and fall of your chest and belly.
Resting your kind attention to wherever you most easily and pleasantly experience the breath.
Now we bring our attention and awareness to how the breath nourishes us,
Sensing how the breath gives us life,
How it connects us all to each other and to the earth.
The algae and the phytoplankton in the ocean,
The pines and the cottonwoods of the forest,
All giving oxygen and life to our bodies.
Taking a moment to connect to whatever plants are native to your home that are sustaining your life.
And any time you notice your mind has drifted,
Gently bring it back to the breath without judgment.
Be right here in this moment.
The bloodstream receiving oxygen from each breath we take and delivering it to all the cells in the body.
This body,
An artistic expression of the earth,
Made mostly of water.
Sensing into your body's connection to the streams and waterways near your home,
You are connected to the earth and beginning to deepen the attention to the body,
Noticing any points of contact with the seat or cushion beneath you.
Sensing into how you are being held,
Softening and opening to that support,
Resting in the bone structure that supports the body,
The body which is rich in calcium,
Another connection to the earth.
Now reconnecting the breath to the body,
Noticing how the body naturally moves with the breath,
The ribs expanding and contracting,
The belly lifting and relaxing,
Surrendering to this most awakened expression of who you are,
Resting in this space for a few moments.
Now I invite you to kindly shift your attention to all that has sustained you in your life.
It could be the people in your life,
Friends and family members,
Teachers,
Random kindness of strangers,
The animals,
Plants and the earth itself,
Whose natural expression supports and uplifts our lives,
The lessons and teachings we've received,
Everything that has brought sustenance to your life,
Naming it to yourself softly,
And allowing your heart to be tender and to open to each one,
Allowing the gratitude to fill your body,
Noting to yourself how it feels to hold each thing in this way,
Truly letting yourself feel the gratitude in your body as a somatic experience and noticing,
How does this feel?
What is the quality of presence that is here now?
Unfurl into this expression of who you are,
This expanded,
Connected and tender-hearted presence,
Trusting and resting in this place,
For it is your true nature.
And for the last couple of minutes,
Allowing yourself to embody the space of gratitude and the opportunity and potential for love and connection that it creates.
