Receive? Really? YES!!! If you tune into the body and notice the energetic signature of gratitude you’ll start to notice that it’s actually a somatic receptivity. 

And receptivity is the #1 quality we need for a good death (and a good life).

I invite you to savor each gratitude for 15 seconds – the time that it takes, according to new understandings in neurobiology, to rewire patterns of lack towards patterns of abundance. 

Here are some prompts to get your gratitude practice flowing:

• Tune into a general feeling of gratitude.
• Notice the heartbeat and how regular it is.
• Notice the breath and how consistent it is.
• Bring to mind a sight you are grateful for: a color you love, or shape, or scene in nature.
• Bring to mind a scent you appreciate and delight in.
• Notice a sound that bring you joy. How many sounds around you right now can you appreciate?
• Notice the touch and texture of a recent hug or touch, a pet you engaged with, fabrics touching your body, being comfortably warm or cool.
• Think of someone who dearly loves you. And feel that flood of gratitude.
• Think of someone who you dearly love. And feel that flood of gratitude.
• Concentrate for 15 seconds on all the ways you’ve been supported in this life. By  the earth itself. By the air and the water. By the microorganisms in and on and around you. By the food you enjoy. By the education and learning you’ve received. 
• Call to mind all of the ways where in this very moment you’re safe. 
• Pick a part of the body that you’re grateful for and savor that. The feet. The eyes. The head. The spine. 
• Pick a movement that feels yummy to you. Revel in it. 
• As you transition out of the practice, gently look around and find an object around you that you feel grateful for. And find another. 

Even when there are hard things in life, even when we have loss, even when something (including us) is dying, there is still so many gifts around us.

My hope is that you’ll see this invitation to practice gratitude as an excuse to PLAY, for play is the essence of healing. We’re only in these bodies for a short time. May you find childlike enchantment with the experience – at least sometimes. 

I delight in your existence. I delight in your joy. I delight in your gratitude’s.