In Canada, today is a day of giving thanks for all of the blessings in our life. We have so much to be grateful for on any given day, even in times of challenge and duress. I am deeply grateful to all of you for your kindness and support, and as a gift on this day of Thanksgiving, I offer you a new meditation called Find Peace in Gratitude. I hope you enjoy it and it helps to remind you of all that you have to be thankful for.
Here is a favourite quote that I often see shared at this time of year, from author Melody Beattie:
Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos into order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates and vision for tomorrow.
The greatest and yet simplest gift that our mindfulness practice brings is a connection to the present moment. When we inhabit the present moment, we can open ourselves to all of its possibilities, its opportunities, the full experience of that moment in time. When we release our attachment to our busy thinking mind, our past regrets and future worries, we can simply be in the Now. In this moment lies the possibility for peace and joy; in this moment lies an opportunity to grow and heal.
Meditation has been an integral part of my life for a long time. It has helped me navigate some treacherous waters – acute illness, family tragedy, profound loss. It has also been there in times of joy and triumph, granting me a sense of balance and perspective and deep gratitude. To anyone who asks (and probably a few who didn’t!), I extol the virtues of meditation, its myriad gifts and benefits, and all the ways we can incorporate mindfulness into everyday life so that we spend more time inhabiting the present moment, with all its possibilities.