Dear friends,
Welcome to this meditation inviting you to spend a little time in Gratitude Place.
If you check maps,
You will not find anywhere in the world a street known as Gratitude Place.
A search on maps is fruitless for this purpose,
Because Gratitude Place is right inside you,
Waiting for you to close your eyes and walk in.
So now I invite you to do just that.
Close your eyes,
But only if that feels comfortable.
Take in a deep breath.
You are already breathing in the air of Gratitude Place.
You are home.
Relax.
Leave aside all and any concerns.
Close the notebook or any app containing a to-do list.
Leave the holiday planning for another day.
Drop those worrying reflections on the past,
The pointless reminders of what you should have said or what you shouldn't have said,
Along with the equally pointless worries about what you did or what you should have done but left undone.
All our lives take place in the present,
In the here,
In the now.
The past provides its lessons,
So it's useful.
The future provides its hope,
So that encourages us to take action in the now.
But here in Gratitude Place,
There are no rooms or corners,
No nooks or crannies,
No storage areas holding these concerns.
Let's have a one-minute pause now,
To allow you to step fully through the door and come into this place of thankfulness and relaxation.
Welcome back.
There are so many wonderful things to explore in this neglected location.
It's amazing how such an interesting place can be overlooked.
We search for happiness outside,
When Gratitude Place is the location where happiness is found,
Inside.
Despite its simple name,
The place is actually quite a long laneway,
With side tracks,
Some of them to the right and some of them to the left,
These leading out from the main lane.
Looked at from the side,
Gratitude Place looks like a tree,
With a solid trunk and branches to the right and left.
Today we are going to examine the first little cul-de-sac to the right,
On Gratitude Place.
A short walk into the place leads you to an opening on the right.
You take the right turn,
The crunch of stones under your feet,
And the little laneway opens into a clearing.
In the clearing you find a wooden seat opposite a stone fountain.
You are surprised to find the fountain in working order,
With its fresh jets of water shooting up and falling back into the fountain.
You can't resist the urge to sit down on this inviting seat.
To the right of the fountain there's a cherry tree just coming into bloom,
And peeping out from within the branches,
There's a curious little robin looking directly at you.
You make a tweet-tweet sound to him,
To reassure him that you see him and that you don't mean any harm.
The scene here is so peaceful,
You find yourself beginning to drift into that half-awake state,
The ideal frame of mind in which to look back with gratitude.
You close your eyes,
Relax to the sound of the fountain,
And allow yourself the gift of looking back with gratitude on the many good people in your life.
It's time for a one-minute pause to allow you to reflect.
Welcome back.
You remind yourself of how fortunate you are to be where you are just now.
You call to mind someone who has been an inspiration to you,
An influence for good in your life.
In the hustle and bustle of everyday events,
We can forget these special people,
People who've been part of our lives over the years.
But now as we sit in this place,
Listening to the trickle of water in the fountain,
And watching that curious little robin,
We give thanks for these people whose presence in our lives has made all the difference.
These reflections leave us feeling cocooned in a warm blanket of thankfulness.
So many good people,
So many happy circumstances,
People in the right place at the right time,
People coming to our aid when we required encouragement,
People standing by us when we felt many people were against us.
So many reasons for gratitude.
We could relax here all day.
But our reminiscences are disturbed by a gentle beep.
This is not an alarm as such.
It's a gentle reminder of the importance of gratitude.
It's a reminder that we have set to go off randomly twice in each hour.
These reminders have two purposes.
One is to stop and give thanks for all that is going on in our lives just now.
The other is a reminder to move,
To stand up,
To stretch a little,
Because we've been told that sitting for extended periods is really bad for us.
So responding to this gentle reminder,
We stand up,
We look around with gratitude,
Wriggle our shoulders,
Stretch a little,
Before making our way back to the opening of Gratitude Place.
We promise ourselves that we will return again to explore other branches leading from this little track,
Sitting right here in our own little corner of the universe.
May you find reasons for thankfulness and gratitude every single day.
Namaste.
