Good evening and welcome to this special evening gratitude meditation.
Cultivating a gratitude practice in the evening allows us to reflect back on our day with a feeling of positivity and to view the events of the day through the lense of abundance. When we approach our day with a feeling of gratitude, we can reframe our experiences - whether they felt happy or challenging - into an opportunity for growth. Inviting this feeling of abundance into our evening ritual, we set the intention for a restful night and a fulfilled day ahead.
We will begin our meditation by expressing our gratitude for our body and our senses. Our senses are our guides through this world, they help us make sense of the world around us, and they allow us to take in the world, and the people around us, fully.
Now, when you’re ready, I invite you to get into a comfortable position. You can sit up with your back straight, and you can also lie down if this feels more comfortable. Rest your hands gently in your lap or by your sides and gently close your eyes.
Relax your shoulders. Relax your face, relax your jaws.
Take a deep breath and let yourself arrive in this moment. You have had a long day, and this is your chance to just be here, in the now, completely at ease and at peace.
As you breathe in and out, notice how every time you breathe in, you can invite more calm and peace. And every time you breathe out, your body relaxes more deeply.
Allow yourself to let all the thoughts from today quieten, the planning, analysing and scheduling, This is your time.
Take a moment to thank yourself for making this time, for taking care of your wellbeing, for choosing to cultivate gratitude in your life.
For the upcoming part of the meditation, I will switch to the first person. You can simply recite after me, in your head.
Thank you for my ability to see, for allowing me to see the people I love and the people who love me, to see all the beauty that nature has to offer, for being able to read, for being able to watch movies, and plays, for being able to see the food I love so much, for being able to travel and see different parts of the world, for being able to expand my perspective.
Thank you.
Thank you for my ability to smell
For being able to smell my favourite foods, for being able to notice the smell of rain on a warm summer day, the smell of the sea breeze, the smell of flowers, to smell the fresh air when I go for a walk in nature. Thank you for being able to cherish the smell of hot chocolate and wood burning in the fireplace.
Thank you.
Thank you for my ability to feel
For being able to touch a soft blanket, for my ability to touch the person or the people I love, to flip the pages of a book, to being able to feel my heart beat, when you place your hand on your chest, for my ability to feel when my body needs rest, for my ability to feel the lightness of snow that just fell just night, and the strength of water from the ocean.
Thank you.
Thank you for my ability to taste
For being able to taste my favourite food, for being able to taste my favourite drink, for showing me when a food I am eating is no longer safe for me to eat, for giving me a small rush of happiness when I eat a piece of chocolate, for letting my experience different cultures by tasting their food…
Thank you for my ability to hear
For being able to hear my favourite song, For being able to hear my loved ones tell me they love me, for being able to hear when danger arises, for being able to listen to the radio, to podcasts and videos and the knowledge I can derive from them. Thank you for being able to hear my favourite band perform, thank you for being able to connect to the people in front of me through their words…
Thank you.
Now think about something you were grateful for today. It could be something really small, like finding your favourite fruit is in season at the supermarket. Or a tasty lunch you enjoyed with a friend. Or it could be something bigger, like a special family celebration, the birth of a child, or a promotion. What makes this day special?
What would be the one thing you write down in your year’s gratitude dairy about today? Something you want to remember?
Notice where in your body you can feel this sense of gratitude. Notice how gratitude feels in your body.
Rest in this feeling for a moment…
Now think about a person you met today that you are grateful for. Perhaps this is a friend who helped you with something, a colleague who supported you, a family member who you shared a special memory with, or even a stranger that you exchanged a smile with. Think about this person, and imagine them in front of your mind’s eye, thanking them for being there, thanking them for sharing this moment together.
Notice how feeling gratitude for a person feels in your body. Notice how it feels to express gratitude to this person.
Now invite other people you met today into this moment. And send them gratitude for being part of your day, for helping you grow, and experience.
Keep breathing in and out..
Perhaps there is also something that happened today that didn’t feel so good at the time. Can you see something about this situation that you feel grateful for? Perhaps you learnt something that will help you in the future, perhaps you were able to get to know yourself better. Perhaps you got to know someone else better.
Keep breathing in and out. Take a moment to pause and express your gratitude for being able to take this time to think about all the things in your life you can feel grateful for.
Thank you.
When you’re ready, slowly open your eyes, stay in this feeling for a little longer. Notice how you can carry this feeling of gratitude into your sleep, and into tomorrow. Stay aware of how, as you go through your day, you can find little things to feel grateful for.
And when you do, you can pause for a moment and rest in the experience, even if just for a little while.
I wish you a restful night, and a refreshed, replenished start to the day.
Good night.