Good morning and welcome.
Please be comfortable wherever you're sitting.
Close your eyes if you'd like to.
Allow your body to relax.
Let your shoulders come down.
Let your breath be easy.
Take a moment to notice what your senses are gifting you with today.
Maybe you've already experienced the sight of the sun streaming in through the windows.
Or you've heard the melody of the rain falling.
Maybe you've smelled coffee beans or tasted breakfast.
Perhaps you've enjoyed the comfort of touch from a loved one or from the way the clothing you're wearing feels against your skin.
These are all gifts to be grateful for,
Often overlooked in their simplicity but still such magical moments that we can choose to pay attention to.
Take a deep inhale and a slow exhale.
Think of the day ahead and what it holds for you.
Maybe your day will be spacious and relaxed.
Or maybe it will be busy and somewhat stressful.
Regardless of what the coming hours may bring,
There will undoubtedly be opportunities for you to pay attention and practice gratitude.
You might be grateful for your body moving for you,
For helping you get to where you need to be.
Grateful for access to shelter,
Warmth,
Nourishing food and clean water.
Grateful for the friend who sends a text or the co-worker who lightens the load.
Grateful for the driver who brings your delivery,
The neighbor who waves and smiles,
The birds who share their song,
The breath that moves through your body.
What are you most grateful for in this moment?
I am grateful for.
.
.
Let yourself finish that sentence with whatever comes to mind.
There's no gratitude too small to express.
Throughout the day you can offer gratitude by simply saying thank you,
Either aloud or in your head,
Whenever there's an opportunity.
It's a simple way to acknowledge the gifts you already have,
The support you already receive and the love that already surrounds you.
And what you may come to experience as a beautiful side effect of practicing gratitude is that you're blessed with even more things to be grateful for,
Even more opportunities to offer thanks.
Even during the darkest,
Most difficult times,
We can usually find at least one thing to be thankful for.
I invite you to begin a daily practice whereby you give thanks upon waking,
Perhaps as your eyes open or your feet first touch the floor,
You can say thank you as a way of acknowledging the gift of being alive,
Of being full of life.
This has been my practice for many years and it helps frame my day in a way that makes me want to embrace it.
I'm choosing to center gratitude for the things I have instead of focusing on what I think I'm lacking.
And there is something so transformational about the words thank you.
In your own time,
Gently open your eyes,
Reconnecting with the space around you.
Thank you for being here this morning,
For choosing to begin your day this way.
I'm grateful that our energies get to meet in this space.
Sending love from my heart to yours.
