You know,
A lot of times we can enter into meditation with the idea that we need to change something.
If we sit still long enough,
We'll stop thinking and we'll exit the meditation as a new person and our problems will be solved.
But what if there was no problem to solve?
What if the problem was our perception?
I'd like to suggest that gratitude for what we currently have is a solution to our skewed perception of events.
Praying to something outside of yourself,
As woo-woo as that may sound,
Forces us to admit that we on our own haven't done very much in our life.
When you really think about it,
We are so dependent on others,
On nature,
On the universe that we don't have a very big responsibility and we can lighten that burden on ourselves.
What if it wasn't just you here?
What if the trees gave their lives for the wood in your house,
On your porch?
What if they produced oxygen so you could breathe?
And the very nature that they're a small part of has an invisible balance that keeps everything in the world functioning in harmony just so that you can live.
What if the earth with all its intricacies was at the perfect temperature to support life?
Your body functions in balance with the magnetic fields and gravity and the moon pull on the earth and the tides.
There's so much more going on to life than what you see in front of you and that what you can do for yourself.
And yet here you are at the center of your universe.
Everything working together in perfect unison to give you the gift of life and the science that invented cars and cement and clothes in your phone.
You didn't do any of this.
If I took it all away and ask you to rebuild it right now,
You wouldn't be able to.
Let's sit there and absorb that for a second.
If we took everything away,
Your clothes,
Your phone,
Your shoes,
And I asked you to create them right now,
You wouldn't be able to.
We all have inherent worth,
But alone we are nothing.
We all need each other and having gratitude and taking the time to recognize everything that had to happen in everyone's life throughout all the years.
Just to get you to this moment can really put things in perspective.
Life is good.
Life is a blessing and I tend to forget that because I'm focused on what I think needs to happen or what I think should have happened differently.
But it's an illusion and I need others and I need meditation and I need writings and videos to remind me that I already have everything in this moment because that's all there is.
All there is is what is now.
If it was supposed to be different,
It would be different.
If I was supposed to have it,
I would have it now.
If I can look at each moment like the frame and a piece of film,
Accept it for what it is right now and then have a new experience with the next frame.
Life's a lot easier.
So let's be grateful for what we have now.
Let's sit.
Close your eyes.
Take a deep breath in through your belly.
And breathe out slowly.
There's nothing to change,
Nothing to fix.
Imagine there's a piece of string on the top of your head.
Pulling very gently your head towards the sky.
Your shoulders are back.
Your waist is up.
Your head is up.
Your shoulders are back.
Your weight is centered on your sit bones.
That allows the energy to flow unimpeded.
Now that's ideal.
If that's troublesome for you,
Don't worry about it.
Just sit.
Focus on everything you have to be grateful for.
If you can walk,
Even if you can't walk,
If you can talk,
If you can't walk,
If you can't talk,
You're breathing.
There's always something to be grateful for.
And if we recognize that,
Give thanks for it.
Really own that in our lives.
That empowers us.
So let's sit here quietly for a few minutes.
I'll let you know when it's time to come back to this present moment.
Thank you.
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