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Gratitude for the Journey

In this meditation, we'll explore how to appreciate the parenting journey even when it's hard.

Hey, welcome. In this meditation, we're going to explore cultivating gratitude in the context of parenting. And this can be a particularly powerful meditation if you're in a space of resentment, frustration and feeling overwhelmed. So thanks for being here and let's get settled in. You can start by finding a comfortable posture.

This could be seated, lying down or standing. If it feels okay to do so, you can close your eyes. And let's drink in one breath together. In through the nose. Slowly out through the mouth.

Inviting the jaw to soften. The shoulders. And the belly. And tuning into a sense of feeling rooted into the ground supporting you. Perhaps your feet on the surface beneath you or your seat against the chair or cushion.

We're just dropping out of some of the noisiness of our life and into a grounded-ness in this moment. When we're overwhelmed, it can be hard to sense what is good, the things we do appreciate, that we are grateful for. So as you consider the journey of being a parent, and you consider it through the lens of it being a gift, what first comes to mind as something that you value about this experience, this opportunity, even if it's small. And just notice how it feels to orient toward this, toward an appreciation of this opportunity of a lifetime that you have. What's one of the most precious moments you've had so far in your parenting journey? And it's okay if multiple come to mind, you can let yourself be flooded with this.

And really, really let your heart open. So you're just relaxing into the gratitude and the appreciation, and maybe even the joy that's arising. If you have any images in your mind, perhaps of your child or children, making those as vivid as possible. Noticing the expression on their face. How you feel in those moments.

How has the parenting journey expanded your life? How has it deepened who you are and added richness to your life and yeah, complexity? But how has that maybe equipped you to navigate your life in a totally new way that maybe you didn't realize you had the capacity for? Take a moment to reflect on that. Just the ways that you've grown and changed. How have you been able to offer something to your child or children? What have you been able to gift to them of yourself? Of course, there are endless things. But what feels unique about what you're able to offer and have offered? And in the last moments of this meditation, just recognizing that parenting is a big, big journey, and it may be stretching you in ways that you never imagined it could. And so we hold all of those realities.

But just let yourself for a moment appreciate, in its simplicity, the gift that it has been in your life, in whatever way it has been a gift. Let yourself really feel that and let the goodness of it saturate your being. We'll take one more deep breath. In through the nose. Slowly out through the mouth.

And when you're ready, you can let your eyes open. Thanks for meditating with me. It's always important for me to acknowledge that just because we're tuning into what we're grateful for and what we appreciate about anything. Doesn't mean we dismiss the stress that it can also bring and the potential pain and hardship that we're going through. We can hold, validate, normalize all of that, and still tune into the seeds of goodness that are there.

Thank you for your practice. I'll talk to you soon. And until next time, take care.

Meditation

4.7

Gratitude for the Journey

In this meditation, we'll explore how to appreciate the parenting journey even when it's hard.

Duration

Your default time is based on your progress and is changed automatically as you practice.

Hey, welcome. In this meditation, we're going to explore cultivating gratitude in the context of parenting. And this can be a particularly powerful meditation if you're in a space of resentment, frustration and feeling overwhelmed. So thanks for being here and let's get settled in. You can start by finding a comfortable posture.

This could be seated, lying down or standing. If it feels okay to do so, you can close your eyes. And let's drink in one breath together. In through the nose. Slowly out through the mouth.

Inviting the jaw to soften. The shoulders. And the belly. And tuning into a sense of feeling rooted into the ground supporting you. Perhaps your feet on the surface beneath you or your seat against the chair or cushion.

We're just dropping out of some of the noisiness of our life and into a grounded-ness in this moment. When we're overwhelmed, it can be hard to sense what is good, the things we do appreciate, that we are grateful for. So as you consider the journey of being a parent, and you consider it through the lens of it being a gift, what first comes to mind as something that you value about this experience, this opportunity, even if it's small. And just notice how it feels to orient toward this, toward an appreciation of this opportunity of a lifetime that you have. What's one of the most precious moments you've had so far in your parenting journey? And it's okay if multiple come to mind, you can let yourself be flooded with this.

And really, really let your heart open. So you're just relaxing into the gratitude and the appreciation, and maybe even the joy that's arising. If you have any images in your mind, perhaps of your child or children, making those as vivid as possible. Noticing the expression on their face. How you feel in those moments.

How has the parenting journey expanded your life? How has it deepened who you are and added richness to your life and yeah, complexity? But how has that maybe equipped you to navigate your life in a totally new way that maybe you didn't realize you had the capacity for? Take a moment to reflect on that. Just the ways that you've grown and changed. How have you been able to offer something to your child or children? What have you been able to gift to them of yourself? Of course, there are endless things. But what feels unique about what you're able to offer and have offered? And in the last moments of this meditation, just recognizing that parenting is a big, big journey, and it may be stretching you in ways that you never imagined it could. And so we hold all of those realities.

But just let yourself for a moment appreciate, in its simplicity, the gift that it has been in your life, in whatever way it has been a gift. Let yourself really feel that and let the goodness of it saturate your being. We'll take one more deep breath. In through the nose. Slowly out through the mouth.

And when you're ready, you can let your eyes open. Thanks for meditating with me. It's always important for me to acknowledge that just because we're tuning into what we're grateful for and what we appreciate about anything. Doesn't mean we dismiss the stress that it can also bring and the potential pain and hardship that we're going through. We can hold, validate, normalize all of that, and still tune into the seeds of goodness that are there.

Thank you for your practice. I'll talk to you soon. And until next time, take care.

Meditation

4.7

Duration

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