Hello hello, this is Sabrina Amina and I'm the host of the feelings pod.
Today's episode is on gratitude.
I haven't recorded an episode in a couple weeks this summer months have been pretty busy
but I have a moment now and I'm feeling called to share a bit about gratitude and how gratitude
is a buoy for me, a life raft when things are challenging.
I think I grew up very much in a culture that values gratitude.
I'm Algerian and in Islam there are a couple of words, phrases that are repeated so often
and one of those words is Alhamdulillah.
So it's just so common that people will ask how are you and the response will be Alhamdulillah
like Alhamdulillah translated as it means thanks be to God Alhamdulillah.
So built into the Arabic language is these constant reminders of God, of Alhamdulillah,
of gratitude and thanks to God.
No matter what the circumstances are you could be in conversation and be like yeah I just
had a bad accident and you can give all these details about this unfortunate event that
passed and at the end of telling that story you'll say Alhamdulillah like but there's
an expression for all the things that are but also an expression of gratitude of the
things that could have been.
Normally I feel much more in flow when I share these episodes so forgive me if this feels
a bit more choppy than usual.
I am traveling and I'm currently in Algiers so there is a bit of an ungrounded quality
I feel but that's what's present and I'm gonna go with it because I do think this is a topic
that's important for me to share and explore.
I think in wellness circles, not even wellness circles like everywhere, discussions of gratitude
have grown in popularity and there are even studies that talk about the benefits of expressing
gratitude and having a daily gratitude practice.
So I guess what I really want to talk about is the feeling of gratitude because this is
the feelings pod, not necessarily having, not necessarily the practice but the feeling
and the feeling that comes up for me when I really am in alignment with gratitude is
almost to the point of overwhelm.
I can often be overcome with emotion just thinking of all the things that I have such
a deep gratitude for and that gratitude keeps me afloat.
It is my buoy in this life of ups and downs.
It also reminds me that two things can be true at once.
Something seemingly unfortunate or quote unquote bad can happen and I can still have
all of these blessings in my life.
Another belief from my upbringing that's related to gratitude is this idea that when
something is lost, something else is gained.
So for example, we always express gratitude for a loss of capital, a loss of material
things, a loss of things that can be replaced because this is always preferable to losing
the things that are irreplaceable.
And in fact it's kind of a spiritual insurance policy.
It's like a down payment for the protection of those irreplaceable things like the lives
of our loved ones and our health and by extension our time in this world.
I can lose all of the money I have in the world and still have wealth in the form of
my relationships in the form of the love that exists in my life, in the form of my health,
my well-being.
A loss of material things is irreparable loss.
Things and money is replaceable.
The things that we don't get back are the people that we love
and the time that we have with one another.
Those are the greatest treasures.
A friend recently told me the story of Job.
And if you know about Job, the story of Job, that poor guy just lost everything.
Everything, everything, everything.
Wealth, health and family.
And what was left from my understanding of the story, the only thing Job had left was
faith.
And the faith I have in my life is definitely a treasure that has been with me forever.
And I think faith looks different for everyone.
But for me the form of faith comes in a belief in God.
And I feel it's quite vulnerable to share that because I feel like discussions of God
are almost taboo.
But I really believe I have such a strong reliance on gratitude and a depth of practice
with gratitude because of my faith in God, because of my upbringing and growing up, Muslim.
It is truly one of the greatest gifts of my life.
So I'm going to keep this practice, I'm going to keep this talk short today so that we can
get into a little bit of a gratitude practice.
And my invitation for you this week is leaning a little bit more deeply into your gratitude
practice if you have one.
And if you don't have really a consistent gratitude practice.
Perhaps exploring where there might be room for more gratitude in your life in a way that
feels authentic and aligned and genuine.
So let's find a comfortable position.
Sitting up, right?
And adjusting your posture.
Noticing your connection to the ground beneath you.
Noticing the seat beneath you, noticing your sit bones, noticing the alignment of your
hips and your shoulders.
Just allowing the shoulders to melt down the back.
Imagining that your head is as light as a feather floating towards the sky.
Just begin to connect to your breath.
Take a deep breath in and let it go.
We'll just breathe in and breathe out at your own pace and bring to mind something in your
life that brings you joy.
Or perhaps something in your life that brings you ease.
And hold that in your mind's eye.
Take a deep breath in and let it go.
Just the feeling, whatever feeling or sensation that arises in the body when you think of
this thing that brings you ease or joy.
Where in the body do you feel that sensation?
Take a deep breath in.
And let it go.
I invite you to rest one hand over the heart and place your other hand over the heart.
Breathe into this space.
Take a deep breath in.
And perhaps bring to mind gratitude for the abundance of air all around us.
For the ability to breathe in a full deep breath.
Let it go.
Noticing any sensation that comes along with a full deep inhale and a full exhale.
Now bring to mind a person that your happy exists in your life.
It could be someone you're close to, someone you know of, someone who's impacted you in
some way.
Just bring that person into your mind's eye.
And then tune into the feeling of gratitude that you may have that this person exists in
your life.
Take a deep breath in and let it go.
Imagining the feeling that comes up for you, knowing that this person is in your life.
Take a deep breath in.
And let it go.
And finally bring to mind a place that you enjoy being, where you enjoy spending time
more, a place where you feel comfortable and safe and at ease.
Take a deep breath in.
Let it go.
Imagine yourself in that space.
Imagine the feeling that you experience when you get to be there.
Take a deep breath in.
Let it go.
And as we close our practice today, I'd like to invite you to extend a bit of gratitude
towards yourself today.
Extend a bit of gratitude for giving yourself some time to be still, to breathe.
And perhaps even just offering yourself some gratitude for simply existing.
Offering yourself some gratitude for being the only person in the world like you.
Knowing that there's no one else in this world like you.
Giving yourself some care and love and gratitude for being just as you are.
Take a deep breath in and let it go.
You can feel free to continue following the breath and whenever you feel ready, you can
open your eyes and come back to the room.
Thank you so much for listening.
Thank you so much for practicing with me today.
I'm truly grateful to share space with you.
Have a wonderful day.