Gratitude Through Ritual

Welcome to this finding gratitude in our rituals,

Reflection and intention.

Please ensure wherever you are that you are in a space that allows you to be comfortable and mindfully present during our time together.

Let's just take a moment to relax before we begin.

Sit up in a straight but comfortable posture.

Breathe into your belly through your nose,

Gently clear your mind and then exhale through your mouth.

Let your shoulders relax.

Fill your belly again,

Gently clearing your mind and then exhale through your mouth.

Relax your shoulders and belly.

Inhale through your nose,

Gently clear your mind,

Exhale through your mouth.

Relax your shoulders,

Relax your belly,

Relax your legs.

Now let's begin our reflection on ritual.

I learned so much from others and I found inspiration for this reflection from Nelson Mandela during the time that he was confined to a small jail cell on Robben Island for 17 years.

He was given little food.

He experienced humiliation from his guards and was required to do physically demanding work.

Yet still,

He chose to find gratitude in his daily chores.

He shared that one can take satisfaction in one's daily life.

One can feel fulfilled by washing one's clothes so that they are particularly clean,

By sweeping a corridor so that it is free of dust,

By organizing one's cell to conserve as much space as possible.

I know that if Nelson Mandela,

Under these conditions,

Can find space in his heart for contentment and purpose in his daily chores,

Then surely we,

Through mindfulness,

Can use our own rituals to find connection,

Purpose and gratitude in our lives.

So today we're going to reflect on experiencing gratitude through nurturing rituals.

Repeated actions or rituals gently and humbly connect us to a higher experience of ourselves and a deeper experience of our connection with all life when they have a nurturing basis either through caring for ourselves,

Our families or our greater community.

When a ritual is nurturing in any way,

We become tied to our highest purpose,

Which is caring for and loving ourselves and others.

This,

In turn,

Can be a deep source of gratitude when we are mindful of what we are experiencing.

Daily rituals are usually subtle.

They will not call attention to themselves and therefore are easy to overlook.

We are required to be present and conscious of the opportunity that they hold in order to foster the sense of gratitude,

Peace and grace that is part of their nature.

Rituals can be formal,

Like a tea ceremony,

Or religious,

Like daily prayer.

They can be physical,

Such as the planting of a seed in a garden every spring,

Or sensory,

Such as mindfully savoring your morning cup of coffee.

When we are fully present and mindful of the nurturing nature of our activity,

A sense of gratitude,

Grace and peace blossoms within us.

This type of gratitude is a humbling one,

For to experience it,

We set aside the identity we present to the world.

We set aside our template of how we expect things should go.

We open our hearts to join with a collective consciousness of purposeful love.

Nurturing and purposeful love is amongst our highest experiences,

For they are what compels us to sacrifice for each other.

It is why parents dream of a better life for their children.

It is why many selflessly seek to make the world better and the life of another better.

It is the reason we strive for equality and justice.

That is why it is important to recognize that our nurturing rituals are connected to this great type of love.

Now your ego may whisper to you that you are too intelligent to waste your time attending to and honoring something as basic as a ritual.

However,

This is only because it is aware that it will be disregarded during this practice and it feels threatened.

So let's move forward by setting an intention to holistically embrace your nurturing rituals for what they are,

Connections to your highest and most loving purpose.

Say to yourself,

Today I will seek to be mindful during my nurturing rituals.

Of the service I am giving to myself,

Other lives,

Or my planet.

During these times I will attend to the connecting higher experience of love that this ritual is offering.

If I experience thoughts,

I will guide them to reflect upon how my ritual is serving and enriching lives.

I will pause and appreciate the deepening sense of shared humanity that my action brings.

I will recognize how many others have participated in these very same acts before me.

During and after my experience,

I will be quiet.

I will be present in order to fully appreciate my connection to a greater community of love.

Now,

As I leave this meditation,

I do so with anticipation,

Awareness,

Readiness and connection.

To all those who have lovingly nurtured our planet,

Others and themselves with me.

And all of those before me who have shared a connection to this beautiful practice.

Namaste my friend.