10 Minutes On Gratitude For All We Have

Allow yourself 10 minutes of reflection, this time to consider all we have going for us, our very existence and a life filled with so many reasons to be thankful. How can we be thankful enough? Interval Music: "A Dreamy Night" by Narek Mirzeai of Music of Wisdom - (Recording re-uploaded as it was cutting out early)

Transcript

Dear friends,

Let's bring ourselves into the present moment with gratitude,

Closing our eyes and allowing ourselves a few moments of reflection,

A few moments when we can escape from the busyness that normally occupies our minds.

Let's see if we can come to rest in mind and body,

Bringing both these aspects of ourselves into the one place,

Noticing how sometimes we are here in one time and one place,

But our minds can be many miles away in another time and another place.

So make sure you're sitting comfortably,

Eyes closed if you wish,

But open if you prefer,

Whatever seems comfortable for you.

As you bring yourself mindfully into this wonderful present moment.

So relax and for these few moments take it easy,

Nothing on the agenda for now except to be here,

Just to be here,

It's as easy as that.

You can use the breath as a way of coming into the present moment,

A way of bringing body and mind into the same place,

Bringing your mind back to this place where you're sitting right now.

So a deep breath in,

Breathing in the good air and letting it out with a big relaxing sigh,

Dropping the shoulders,

Letting them flop down and releasing any tension there,

And just breathing in and out for a few moments,

Breathing in and being aware that you're breathing in,

And as you breathe out just bring to awareness the fact that you are breathing out,

And again just relaxing into this present moment and enjoying the happiness of just being here together,

For a few moments of total relaxation in the here and the now.

Let's have a one minute pause.

Welcome back.

Today our reflection is on gratitude.

We have so many things for which to be thankful,

From the time we get up in the morning until we go to bed each night.

In the first place,

Gratitude for our very existence.

This is something we can easily take for granted.

We might think what is the big deal,

We are here,

What is to be said about it,

But being here,

Aware and alive,

Is a very big deal,

The biggest deal of all.

Being here at all is against all the odds,

And being here we have so many things going for us,

A place to live,

Food,

Water,

The comforts of everyday life,

And so many things that money can't buy,

Family,

Friends,

Companionship,

People we love and people who love us.

If we woke up today with only the things we were thankful for yesterday,

What would we have?

Thinking of myself,

And maybe you too,

We would have very little.

It doesn't bear thinking about.

We all need to be more grateful.

Gratitude is the opposite of a sense of entitlement.

This sense of entitlement,

This sense of wanting,

This sense of must-have,

These will lead us into a downward spiral of need,

A need that can never be satisfied.

On the other hand,

If we approach life with an attitude of gratitude,

We see all around us so many things for which we can be thankful,

And each and every one of them making life good for us and for the people around us.

So how can we encourage ourselves in this wish to be more grateful?

One idea is to make use of a gratitude journal.

This is a simple notebook that we keep by our bedside with the intention of taking note each evening of three things for which we are grateful as the day nears its end.

These don't have to be spectacular gifts.

It doesn't have to be a lotto win,

And if it was,

We might realize that it might not bring us happiness or reasons for gratitude at all.

It doesn't have to be a special gift that we received.

It doesn't have to be an exotic holiday from which we've just returned.

Better to be grateful for the day-to-day benefits,

The unexpected kind word from someone,

The hug from someone who cares for us,

The laughing face of a child,

The funny joke that we received on Whatsapp,

The knowledge that we mean something to someone else,

And the knowledge that we are important to someone else.

Above all,

The fact that we woke up this morning to another new day.

As G.

K.

Chesterton puts it,

Here dies another day during which I have had eyes,

Ears,

Hands,

And the great world around me.

And with tomorrow begins another,

Why am I allowed to?

And we don't have to wait for once-off benefits in order to have something to put into our gratitude notebook.

We can take everyday benefits for granted,

So these need to have a place in the notebook as well.

The ordinary taken-for-granted things that come to us every day.

They will mean so much more if we take notice.

Looking back over time,

All of us will find days when we are feeling down.

Days when things or people seem to be going against us,

Days when nothing is going right.

On those days we can fall back on the gratitude notebook and glance through its pages.

Then we realise that most of the time everything is just fine,

And most of the time we have very much to be grateful for.

So make a resolution in the time ahead to watch out for reasons for gratitude.

They are all around if we watch out for them.

Knowing that we are going to take a note at the end of the day will make us more aware of these good things when they happen in the course of the day.

Gratitude is the key to happiness.

Remember the words of Meister Eckhart,

The 13th century German theologian,

Philosopher and mystic.

If the only prayer you ever say in your entire life is thank you,

It will be enough.

The message for today,

Let us find happiness through gratitude.

Thank you.

And so to end,

The divine in me bows to the divine in you.

Or as it's put more poetically,

My soul honours your soul.

I honour the place in you where the entire universe resides.

I honour the light,

Love,

Truth,

Beauty and peace within you,

Because it is also within me.

In sharing these things we are united.

We are the same.

We are one.

Namaste.

Thank you.

Reviews

Thank you! I have kept a gratitude journal daily since 2018 and it has changed my life. I appreciate your good reminder for keeping it going 💜

I’m grateful for another wonderful meditation, suitable for any time of day - your words are always so well-chosen, thank you Tony 🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻

Thank you for always sharing the lovely nuggets of wisdom. I love meditating with you! Namaste.

A great reminder for the beautiful day ahead. Thank you, Tony!

So grateful for you, Tony. I always receive relief, Serenity, and some semblance of peace, after hearing each of your meditations.

Tom Brady is always so wise, comforting and kind. I also love his accent 😝🌷Thank you!

As always, Tony, gratitude is an anchor for staying put in happiness!

Really lovely words, thank you.
I have a night time practice where I write gratitude on a post it and then put it in a jar. I read multiple each night, and it is very healing. I’ve noticed a massive difference in how I see my whole life.

I appreciate how you can remind me how to be grateful for existence.

I very much enjoyed this Namaste, too!

Excellent as always, Tony. My appreciation for your teachings.

Thank you 🙏🏼 Your voice and words are incredibly soothing. Namaste

Beautiful, perfect to help me start my day with gratitude thank you so much for creating and sharing… Namaste 🙏🏻

Tony has a very natural gift of hitting the right note with his meditations

Thank you Tony for this beautiful reminder of our rich and blessed lives.

So nice. I rewound several times to listen again. I’ll return and take some notes too. Thank you, Tony, and blessings on you. 🙏🏻💕

Greatly appreciate the reminder of why we should always be grateful. Thank you! Namesté 🙏🏽♀️❤🇺🇦

Thank you 🙏 it’s always good to look at the half cup full 🍷

Beautiful meditation! Thank you so very much. 🙏🏻💕

Thank you for reminding uu to remember every day all that we are thankful for.

Thanks so much Tony, very grateful for wonderful teachers like you who help me to maintain my gratitude and mindfulness practice❣namaste 🙏🏼😌

Beautiful as always, thank you Tony 🧘‍♂️🙏🙇‍♀️💕