Hello and good morning,
I'm Stephen and this morning we're going to do a little practice that I call Morning Abundance,
Seeing what was always there.
So just while you're settling in,
Allowing your body to relax and making yourself comfortable.
As you are slowly becoming aware of your breath,
Aware of this moment,
Just to let you know you don't need to do anything with your breath,
Your body knows how to breathe.
You don't have to do anything with your body,
Your body knows how to relax.
So just allow your body to relax and breathe into this moment,
And just to keep your mind a little busy.
And just to keep the mind busy,
You can imagine breathing in calm,
Breathing out relaxed.
And what does that look like?
Maybe the body is moving very slowly,
Very subtly,
Just forward and back slightly.
Maybe with every out breath,
There's a part of the body that just relaxes a little more.
Maybe it's your shoulders or your hands.
Maybe it's even your ears or your eyes.
Maybe it's even your whole body allowing it to relax into this moment.
And in this meditation,
If you miss something I say,
Or you wander off,
Just smile and bring it back to this moment.
And just bring it back to the awareness of breath,
And then catch up on the next thing I say.
It really doesn't matter,
It's okay.
You have permission to be human,
To be distracted,
For the mind to wander.
Just when you notice it has,
Bring it back.
And this moment is already everything it needs to be.
We don't need to add anything to this moment.
And I'd like to invite you to notice something this morning.
Not something new,
Something that's always been there.
And there is an abundance in your life right now.
Not the abundance we're told to chase.
Not something waiting for you somewhere ahead.
Abundance that is already here.
So familiar,
You've even stopped seeing it.
And I'd like us to gently change this this morning.
So first of all,
Just bring your attention to the chair,
Or the cushion,
Or whatever's holding you up now.
And just for a moment,
Imagine it isn't there.
There's no support beneath you.
Nothing holding you.
It may be really uncomfortable sat on the floor.
Maybe there were no cushion.
Feel the uncomfortableness.
The frustration,
The annoyance of not having.
And now let it come back.
Feel the support returning.
The solid but quiet,
Faithful presence.
That's something that holds you every single day.
And just let yourself feel that for a moment.
Not as a thought,
But as a feeling.
The joy of having this.
Now I want you to think of something that made your night more comfortable.
It could have been your bed,
Or just your pillow,
Or your lovely quilt.
One of those things.
I want you to imagine tomorrow morning it wasn't there.
And how much more uncomfortable,
And how much more frustrating your night would have been.
How much colder,
And you might end up with neck ache and pain and frustration.
And now imagine your bed with whatever it needs to be.
Your lovely pillow or your quilt.
How much nicer is that to return?
And there's so many of these little things.
From our kettle that I mention quite often.
To the quilt,
To our shoes and our clothes.
To the morning cup of tea or coffee.
To the car starting.
All of these little things just happen.
Until they don't,
And then we get frustrated.
So now let's return just to the breath.
Breathing in calm,
Breathing out relaxed.
And now we'll let the feeling widen.
Beyond the quilt or the pillow.
Beyond the chair.
Into this morning itself.
This morning has arrived.
You've woke up.
And at the moment there's very few conditions.
It simply came the way mornings always do.
Carrying with it another chance to notice what it means to be alive.
Another breath to take.
Another day to move through.
Another opportunity to see what has always been there.
Quietly sustaining you.
Just waiting to be seen.
We already have so much in life.
It may not be perfect.
Our bodies may be aging slowly.
But it's all doing its best.
And we tend to focus on the things that we have to worry about.
The things that we have to pay attention to.
The things that stop us in our tracks.
Sometimes I think we need to take a step back and appreciate the things that are just there anyway.
The things that don't stop us because they just work.
And just rest in this moment.
Let's just breathe in calm.
Breathe out relaxed.
Feeling all the abundance you have in your life right now.
The quiet fullness of what is already here.
And when there's a willingness to notice the ordinary things.
That are truly just there for us.
They suddenly become quite extraordinary.
We suddenly feel that abundance.
And just before we return to this moment.
Very often when someone says to us.
What should we be grateful for?
What should we thank this moment for?
It's not always easy to think of things.
But when we do practices like this.
We realize there's an endless amount of things that.
We wake up to every morning that.
Make our lives slightly more pleasant.
And without them it would be less joyful.
So just gently bring your awareness back into the room.
Take a slightly deeper breath and let it go slowly.
And five.
Feel the weight of your body held.
Four.
Wiggle your fingers and toes.
Three.
Let the sounds of the room come back in.
Two.
Softly open your eyes.
One.
Just take a deep breath right now.
And let it go with some energy.
Just when you're going through your day.
Imagine what would my life be like.
If my car didn't work today.
Or if I forgot my cup on the way to work.
Or what if I didn't have my favorite jumper.
All these little things.
Just imagine your life without them.
Just for a moment.
And then instantly bring them back in and go Ah,
Thank you for being there.
I'm Stephen Webb and always deeply grateful for your support.
Have a lovely day.
