Warmed By Gratitude - A Cup In Hand

Lift a comfortable, warm drink, real or imaginary, with the steam rising from the cup. Hold the cup near your face so that you can see the steam rising. Feel and enjoy the heat of the cup in your hands as you allow the heat to warm your hands and your spirit. Spend some minutes in mindful reflection, cup in hand, giving thanks for your existence and renewing your dedication to all that is good. Photo by yanadjana (Envato Elenents)

Transcript

Dear Friends,

This meditation is designed for use on a cold day.

To experience the spirit of this meditation you may need to equip yourself with a warm drink,

A cup of tea or coffee or some other drink that will give rise to steam,

Steam that will be visible if you hold the cup in your hand close to your face.

If that's not possible for you just now,

You can of course close your eyes and exercise your imagination instead.

So when you have equipped yourself with your hot drink,

Real or imaginary,

Let us begin.

Sit yourself in a comfortable position with the cup near at hand.

Lift the cup to your face with both hands and hold it near your face so that you can see the steam rising.

Feel and enjoy the heat of the cup in your hands.

Allow the heat to warm your hands and your spirit.

And as you sit,

Remember to give thanks for this day.

Pay special attention to the steam rising.

Let it remind you of your hopes and wishes for this day and for your life.

Let it represent a prayer rising and disappearing into the ether,

Disappearing back into the wonder of all that is.

Take a sip of the drink and give thanks for the gift of this present moment and all the benefits of your life.

Just as your hands are warmed by the heat of this cup,

Realise that your life is warmed by the people surrounding you on the journey of life.

This is a special moment of mindful attention,

A quiet stopping place in the hustle and bustle of everyday life.

Feel a sense of gratitude for this moment so that in future days,

If you ask yourself,

Have I ever been grateful for anything?

You'll be able to remember this day as one special day when you sat cup in hand,

Allowing yourself to be embraced by the warmth of the world.

The life of each of us is a special gift as we float in the mystery of existence.

I cannot believe that you and I are simply a mindless accumulation of atoms that over countless ages of time evolved to be the feeling and thinking people we are.

Let us recognise this existence for the miracle it is and unite ourselves with whatever nameless underlying reality of possibility has given rise to us,

To you and to me.

In response to this wonder,

Let us every night give thanks for the gift of the day just passed and every morning let us renew again our resolution by thoughts,

Words and actions to contribute to the betterment of this world.

Namaste.

Reviews

No cup of tea here yet but I will remember to give thanks for small gifts today, thank you Tony 🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻

Thank you so much for this mindful, kindful offering. It was a beautiful accompaniment to the morning tea that my other half brought me before he left for work. I really appreciated his loving action and your guidance has topped up my gratitude cup too! Feeling blessed 🙏🏻.

Lovely moment for reflection, it's a good example of how every little thing we have in our daily life CNA be an opportunity to reflect and meditate. Thank you Tony 🙏🏼🪷🌈

I often pause when I eat or go for a walk and am grateful for the taste of chocolate or salad or the birds singing. But I hadn’t thought about how that will make looking back on the day to look for things to be grateful for easier. Thank you for your wisdom and warmth.

Such a nice warming practice that reminds us we're all connected. Thank you!

This meditation is a blessing and you are a blessing as a teacher Tony. Thank you for all you do here on Insight Timer, you make such a difference to my life and that of so many people 🙏🏻💖

So grateful for your timely reminders 🙏🕯️🙏.every moment of gratitude brings rise for more gratitude 🙏 💞🙏

As this early morning is so cold, this was a lovely warming moment Tony. Thank you 🙏❤️

Thank you Tony for this beautiful reminder. Much love and gratitude to you for making my world a better place with your teachings. I can then be a blessing to my family, feeling gracious for all the gifts in my life.

Oh Thank you Tony. This just warms my heart. You are a blessing in my life and your meditations are always so inspiring. Thanks 🙏🏻💕

GM Tony I received your kind words with appreciation. Thank you! May you have an amazing day.💕🙏🌷☘️

Sweet reflection of simply seeing the blessing in a simple moment. Thank you, Tony. Namaste 🙏

That was brilliant! It warmed my heart and hands and gave me a smile! It opened my heart to the day and gratitude! Thank you!

Thank you for sharing your morning reflections over a steaming cuppa. The warmth will stay with me today. Namaste 🤓🙏🏻

I am so grateful for your wonderful meditations..And this one has the capacity to be within every mug of drink today.. and every day. A lovely warming idea.

I always love your thoughts. Perfect 👌 Thank you.

Have listened to this several times already, the last time with a hot cup of tea in hand…thank you for this blessing, Tony. Will love to revisit. Peace to you 💜

Thank you, Tony🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻Perfect reflections while drinking my tea this morning. With gratitude, love, and light🙏🏻🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🙏🏻

As always Tony you leave me to be closer to our God and to always remember to be thankful for his wonderful gifts

As I always do, enjoyed this meditation and the perfect guidance you provide!
Namaste