Carol

Dee Dee Sanford

Chicago, IL, USA

Katharina 

Hamburg, Germany

Georgina Anna Francis

Hude, Germany

Jennifer W

Virginia Beach, VA, USA

Mack

Darlene Harden

Rockaway Beach, Queens, NY, USA

Sally Vanderpump

London, UK

Donna Sobieski

East Northport, NY, USA

Margaret 

Piries Victoria, Australia

Senga

Elgin, Scotland, UK

Lori

Kristin B

Ridgefield, WA, USA

Lytham St Annes, Lytham Saint Annes, UK

Michael

Oregon, USA

Wambui

Chesapeake VA

Cody Joyce

Key West, FL, USA

April Campbell

Regina McLendon

San Diego, CA, USA

Wendy Kirchner

Practice gratitude by acknowledging the people who support your daily life and comforts.

English

Lots of our suffering comes from our inner monologues or narratives. We forget that looking out at the world, the people around us, and the things that connect us, is a great way of reducing that suffering. Use this meditation as a reminder of the things we can be grateful for.

Gratitude Meditation

 Hello and welcome to this guided gratitude meditation. My name is Dali and I'm going to walk you through a meditation today. A practice that you can take with you wherever you go. Whether it's on your commute, or just on a walk, or out visiting friends. Whatever you do. A lot of our suffering comes from over thinking, internal judgements, negativity that is incessant with all of our thoughts. And it happens to all of us. But we kind of need to find a way to come out of that. And giving gratitude to others is a great way of looking outward. Instead of focusing on that inward narrative, that inward voice, the internal judgements. The Dalai Lama often talks about how altruism is one of the greatest ways of combating anxiety and stress. And I see gratitude under that altruism umbrella of giving to others. Genuine giving. Giving your thanks for everything around you. And the people around you. So if you want to get comfortable now, whatever that means for you is absolutely fine. You could be sitting or lying down. Whatever works for you is fine. And allow your eyes to gently close. And bring your attention to your breath. We're not going to change anything with the breath. We're just going to watch what the breath is doing. Noticing that it's there. Without trying to change anything. Now you could be listening to this meditation any time of the day. But we're going to start the exercise in the morning. So that if it's not morning for you now, tomorrow you can put this into practice. Next time you awake, I want you to first give gratitude to the day. Just be grateful that it's a brand new day. Whatever happened yesterday, whatever happened this week, doesn't matter. You can begin again. Be grateful for the chance to begin again on this brand new day. Take a moment to consider your bed or your sofa, wherever it is that you've woken up. Give thanks to those people who built that bed or sofa. Be grateful for the people that sold you it. For the bed sheets, the pillow, the duvet, the covers, the blanket, whatever it is that's keeping you warm right now. Somebody somewhere made that. Give them thanks. Be grateful. Show your gratitude for the things that make you comfortable and warm while you sleep. When you wash or shower, remind yourself that the water doesn't just appear magically. Somebody fitted your shower or your bath, the pipes in your house or your apartment. There was plumbers, there was builders, there was architects who designed the building. Be grateful to all those people. Because everything they did in building that has given you somewhere to live or to be or to stay. When you make your breakfast or when you go out for your breakfast, before you eat your food or drink your coffee, think about where it came from. Be grateful to the people who harvested that food, grew that food, transported that food, sold you that produce. Be grateful to all those people that allowed you to have your breakfast in that moment. As you travel to work or home or to see friends, wherever you're going, be grateful for the public transport networks or for your car. Somebody created those things. A whole team of people created those things. Show your gratitude, give thanks to those people that allowed you to get from A to B in whatever way. There's people out there who are making that journey easier for you. Silently in your head, just thank them. Whatever it is that you're going to do throughout your day, whether you're going to work or whether you're retired or you're on vacation, try and pay attention to all those things that you encounter throughout your day. Even using your phone, using this app. There's people who maintain it, there's people who create it, support it, There's people who maintain it, there's people who create it, support you in using it. Give them thanks. Even the service provider for your phone. Or if you're watching TV, the people who've created those TV shows or movies or films or documentaries. Whole teams of people. Nobody does any of this on their own. We all rely on each other, we're all connected, we're all working together for each other, ultimately for ourselves too. Give thanks to everyone around you. And as you go through your day, giving thanks, being grateful, you can expand that. You can think back to the food you had or on your walk you can spot some flowers, plants, trees. And give thanks to the wildlife that enriches our environment, nourishes us. All the fruit and veg that grows, all that pollination. Give thanks to the bees and the insects. We're all working together. And I challenge you to go throughout your day looking for people you can thank. Even people who will never know that you're thanking them. But it will help you, you will feel better for giving gratitude to others. Look for those moments, look for those items that you use, that you've never thought about before, you take them for granted. I know I do it. Think about who made them, think about who shipped them to you. Think about the people who look after you. And give gratitude to them. The more that we can look outward and thank the people around us for whatever it is they're doing. The less time we'll spend stuck in our negative thoughts, judgments. And we should find ourselves having a more peaceful day. You can gently open your eyes now and take in your surroundings. And let me say thanks to you for joining me. I really appreciate you. And I hope to see you again soon. Thank you, take care.