Welcome to this gratitude meditation by Maggie Stevens.
Gratitude is both universal and deeply personal.
So as we move through this meditation,
If the topic or words that I'm sharing don't resonate with you,
Then I encourage you to choose your own topic or subject to focus on.
And if at any time it becomes too difficult,
Then listen to your own inner wisdom and return to the safe anchor.
Perhaps it's your breath or your hands or your feet.
Remember,
You know what's best for you.
Now you may choose to close your eyes or lower your gaze.
And I invite you to settle into your body.
Start by making yourself as comfortable as possible.
Your back should be straight but not stiff or arched.
Take a few nice deep cleansing breaths.
Settle into your body and let yourself be here and now.
Let your breath to return to whatever pace is just right for you.
We can start by being grateful for our breath.
It nourishes our whole body.
It brings oxygen to every cell from the tip of our head to the tips of our toes.
And then our breath carries away what's not needed by those cells.
And our breath carries on 24-7 without any intervention on our part.
Thank goodness.
Thank goodness it doesn't require our attention.
And so you might say to your breath,
Thank you.
Or I'm grateful to you.
Or any other words that seem appropriate.
Thank your whole respiratory system.
Now try moving your attention to your digestive system that feeds your body and brings you energy.
Your digestive system transforms matter to energy.
Even though at times our digestive system may work better than others,
It still performs this alchemy for us.
It sustains us.
And so you can say,
Thank you,
Or I'm grateful to you.
Consider your muscles and bones,
How they support us and help us move around.
Let them know,
Thank you.
I'm so grateful.
And now try considering your heart.
It's been beating since before you were born.
You might want to place a hand on your chest over your heart and feel it.
It's steady and calming.
Sharon Salzberg tells us that our hearts are generous muscles.
It sends blood to our whole body,
Every organ,
Bone,
Muscle and cell.
You might feel your gratitude well up from your heart or chest and feel it in your body.
Thank you.
I'm so grateful.
And now try bringing your attention to some small moment from this day or yesterday that brought you to your senses.
It could be something you saw like a sunset or sunrise.
Maybe it was the taste of tea or coffee or a delicious meal.
Perhaps it was the sound of rain or the laughter of someone you care about.
Maybe it was stroking a pet or a hug you gave or received.
Perhaps you caught the scent of flowers or trees outside or the scent of delicious cooking while a meal was being prepared.
Use your senses to recall fully that moment.
And be grateful that the universe conspired to bring these things and your senses together.
Be grateful that you slowed down enough that you actually noticed.
Gratitude is a gentle emotion that bubbles up from inside the body.
Can you feel it inside?
It might spread a smile to your face.
It might be an expansive feeling around your heart.
Or you might feel it in another part of your body.
Offer words or gestures of thanks.
Thank you.
I'm so grateful.
And now let that moment fade.
And I invite you to consider a person who makes you smile or brings you joy.
This could be someone living or someone who's past who loves you.
Maybe it's someone who mentored you or lifted you up.
Perhaps it's not a person at all but some other creature who loves you unconditionally or has loved you unconditionally.
Sometimes we're thankful for what someone has done for us.
And sometimes we're just grateful that they exist in the world at the same time we do.
Focus that being in your mind's eye now.
And feel the gratitude pour out of your heart and into their heart or their eyes.
And share your words of gratitude with them.
Feel how your heart opens.
And now I invite you to consider a group of people who you may not know individually.
They could be healthcare workers or first responders.
Perhaps they work for a nonprofit you believe in.
Maybe they're the staff at your local grocery store.
These are people who work for your benefit and the benefit of others even though you might not know them.
Let them know I thank you.
I'm so grateful for all you do on my behalf and the behalf of others.
And see if you can consider your interconnections.
Think about your last meal.
There were farmers who raised part of it,
Factory workers who packaged part of it,
Delivery drivers who drove trucks to stores,
And clerks who stocked shelves and checked out items.
And perhaps you or someone else cooked it for you.
You are connected to each of these people and they are connected to you.
Offer them your gratitude.
And now I offer you to think about the Dharma.
Think about teachers and lessons you've learned in your life that were instrumental.
Instrumental in you becoming a stronger,
More loving person.
You might think of teachers or mentors,
Authors of books you've read,
All of the experiences that have led you down the path to where you are right now.
All the things that connect you more deeply to your own heart and the world.
And offer words of gratefulness.
And now I invite you to consider a recent lesson that life has given you in this past week or so.
Some small frustration.
A moment of impatience.
Perhaps not getting what you wanted when you wanted it.
Consider this an opportunity to grow.
You learn to pause.
Either then,
Or if not then,
You're pausing now.
You're learning to be with that.
You're widening your ability to tolerate inconveniences and disappointments.
You can hold yourself with compassion.
Take yourself for your awareness.
For your ability to pause and not react.
For your own kindness.
And now I invite you to return to your heart and feel its spaciousness.
Let it fill you up so that you can feel your whole body welling up with the gratitude from your heart.
As if it's a spring that's flowing over into the rest of your body.
Filling up your belly and your chest and washing across your face.
And maybe it bubbles like a spring.
Or maybe it seeps like honey from a honeycomb.
Gratitude filling you up.
Because a grateful heart connects to everything else.
John Muir said,
When we try to pick out anything by itself,
We find it hitched to everything else in the universe.
I invite you to return to your breath.
And when you're ready,
You can open your eyes and return to this place and time.
