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.