Hello and welcome.
And before we begin,
I'd like to invite you to simply arrive here.
You don't have to arrive feeling peaceful.
You don't have to arrive feeling grateful.
You don't have to change anything about how you're feeling right now.
Just notice.
You're here.
Gently take a moment to feel the support beneath you.
Getting as comfortable as possible.
Feeling the chair or the floor.
Go to bed.
Whatever is holding you right now.
For a moment,
Simply receive that support.
And now take a slow,
Comfortable breath.
And as you exhale,
Allow your body to soften.
Just a little.
Just like the exhale.
And there's nowhere else you need to be right now.
Nothing you need to accomplish.
For these next few minutes,
You can simply be here.
And maybe gratitude isn't something we have to force.
Maybe it's what.
.
.
That becomes possible when we slow down enough.
To notice what's already here.
And that's what I'd love to explore with you.
Grounding ourselves in the present moment.
And allowing gratitude to arise from that grounded awareness.
And I invite you to bring your awareness to your body.
And simply notice where you're being supported.
If you're sitting,
Feel the cheer beneath you.
If you're lying down,
Feel the surface beneath your body.
If your feet are on the floor.
Just notice the connection between your feet.
And the Earth.
And you don't have to imagine anything.
Simply notice.
The support beneath you.
Notice your breath.
The inhale.
The exhale.
And there's no need to change anything yet.
Just notice.
And now I invite you to take another slow breath in.
And as you exhale,
Let yourself soften a little.
And again,
Inhale.
And exhale.
Let yourself Arrive.
And now I invite you to bring your awareness down into your body.
Down from your mind.
Into your body.
From thinking.
Into sensing.
I invite you to feel your feet.
Feel your legs.
Feel the weight.
Of your body.
Feel the surface beneath you.
And silently or softly out loud.
Say to yourself,
Aye.
Am here.
And again.
I am here.
And one more time from the depths of your being,
I am.
Am here.
Nothing to solve.
Nothing to figure out.
Just.
Here.
And so much of the time,
Our minds are somewhere else.
Thinking about what happened or what's coming next.
And sometimes in all of that thinking,
We miss what's already here.
So I invite you to gently bring your attention to this moment.
Your breath.
Your body.
The sounds around you.
And ask yourself.
Am I almost missing right now?
And it might be something very ordinary.
Maybe the light coming through your window.
Gentle sound in the distance.
The feeling of warmth.
The sensation of your breath.
The simple fact.
That you have this moment.
Pause.
And just let one thing come into your awareness.
And if you notice something,
Don't rush past it.
Just stay with it.
Really notice it.
And rather than simply thinking.
I'm grateful for this.
See if you can allow yourself.
To experience the appreciation.
Where do you feel it in your body?
Maybe it's warm.
Or maybe softness.
Maybe your face,
Your lips are starting to curl up and gently smile.
And maybe it's something very subtle.
And it may be nothing obvious at all.
There's no right way to experience gratitude.
Just notice.
And now I invite you to bring to mind someone whose presence has brought something meaningful into your life.
Someone who offered you kindness.
And maybe it was through a conversation or a moment of laughter.
A lesson.
Or maybe someone who just simply showed up.
And without needing to make the feeling bigger,
Silently say,
Thank you.
And then notice what happens inside of you.
And now,
Let that person gently fade into the background.
And bring your awareness back to yourself.
Is there something about yourself?
That you can appreciate.
Maybe it's your resilience.
Tenderness.
Your willingness to keep going.
Your curiosity.
Your capacity to love.
Or maybe it's your simple willingness to be here right now.
And silently say to yourself,
Thank you.
Just receive it.
Now I invite you to feel your body again.
Feel your feet.
Feel the support beneath you.
Feel your breath.
And notice.
Gratitude doesn't require everything to be perfect.
You don't have to deny what's difficult.
Both can be true.
There can be pain and gratitude.
Uncertainty and presence.
Grief.
And love.
And maybe this is one of the gifts of gratitude.
It doesn't necessarily change what is happening.
Sometimes it simply changes what we're able to notice.
And so for this moment,
You might silently say,
Thank you.
For this moment.
And there may be something here for you.
Something to notice.
Something to receive.
And something that brings you back to yourself.
Thank you.
For this moment.
And now I invite you to begin to bring your awareness back to the room around you.
Feel the surface beneath you.
Feel your body.
Notice your breath.
Notice the sounds around you.
Start to gently wiggle your fingers and toes.
And before you open your eyes,
Ask yourself one final question.
What is one thing I want to remember?
From this moment.
And you don't have to force an answer,
Just notice what comes.
Take one deep breath in.
Slow breath out.
And when you're ready,
Only when you're ready.
Gently open your eyes.
Your time.
This.
Is here.
Aye.
I'm here.
And for this moment.
That is enough.
Thank you for joining me for this practice.
I invite you to come back to it again and again,
To bring yourself home to yourself.
Gentle moments of awareness.
Have a beautiful day.
Namaste.
