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Hello hello, this is Sabrina Amina and this is the feelings pod.

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I am here to share an episode about gratitude. In our last episode I talked a bit about

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patience and Ramadan and another important feeling that comes up that I get to explore

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deeply during the holy month of Ramadan is gratitude. That song comes to mind

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by Joni Mitchell. Should I sing? Uh oh, I think I'm going to sing on my podcast.

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Don't it always seem to go that you don't know what you got till it's gone.

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Now the nice thing about Ramadan is like it's a pause for many of us. Like we

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food isn't gone, we just take a pause, we take a step back from it.

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Um so having an abundance of

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nourishment in our lives in so many ways is quite a blessing.

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This Ramadan was particularly poignant because of the ongoing genocide in Gaza.

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Uh it's um

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you know the experience of gratitude has has grown and deepened as

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we've been witnessing the incredible loss happening just like unfathomable

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death and destruction. It's since October.

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We're past 200 days and

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all throughout Ramadan you know we saw people in Gaza

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breaking their fasts on on grass literally whatever they could find.

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Um anything I've felt challenged with in these months has felt

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small and insignificant compared to what our brothers and sisters are enduring in Palestine.

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So gratitude has taken on more depth in my life.

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It is usually something that gets highlighted during Ramadan for sure because you know when you

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experience you know hunger pangs and need to practice patience through those moments like

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you realize this hunger is temporary, this discomfort is temporary. I'm not going to

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be hungry forever because I know where my next meal is coming from.

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And that's a huge blessing. Not everyone has that food security in their lives.

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The other thing Gaza and and Palestinians have taught us about gratitude is

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no matter what hardship befalls them

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you just see video after video after video of

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them repeatedly saying the word Alhamdulillah and in Arabic Alhamdulillah means

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praise be to Allah. It's the expression of gratitude. It's the mantra for giving thanks

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in the Muslim world.

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We've literally seen you know mothers and fathers and brothers and sisters and orphans

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and children of all ages like saying Alhamdulillah.

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So when faced with this kind of

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you know witnessing

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you know the loss

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it just paints life in a totally different way.

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I think in spiritual circles and you know the quote unquote western world we just

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just gratitude is this cute thing that we do to practice.

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I don't know just it almost it almost seems meaningless and insignificant in terms of how

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often it's repeated over and over again.

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As much as I'd like to have a light discussion about gratitude it really

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coming to a deeper understanding of of gratitude

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you know came from witnessing a lot of the darkness

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and so how do we not get sucked into that darkness how do we not get lost in it

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because at the end of the day as someone who holds a place of privilege

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it is I feel it is my part of my spiritual contract my spiritual duty to stay connected

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to the light in the midst of all this darkness so that we can keep working towards advocating for

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speaking up for a more just world a world where all of our children are safe

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a world where all of our children's lives everyone's life is of value

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Well I started out singing and now we've gone to a pretty heavy space and so I think this might be

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a good place to pause for our just a simple breathing practice to come to the present moment.

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My breath has been a faithful friend throughout these months and

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I am certainly grateful for this breath I am certainly grateful for these lungs

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I'm certainly grateful for the safe quiet space the shelter of my home

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so that I can continue my work

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I invite you to find a comfortable seat allow the eyes to close

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and we'll start with a simple body scan at the crown of the head

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and bring your awareness and I'd like you to think of your awareness as this cascading

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waterfall that pours from the very top of your head and as you're bringing awareness imagine

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that awareness as just water falling over your face and that awareness pours itself over your neck

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and shoulders, it cascades over your upper arms and your chest

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it envelopes the heart space as you take a deep breath in

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and continue to bring that wave of awareness down through the body, the belly

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allow it to wash over the hips, the tops of your thighs over your knees

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bring the flow of awareness down your legs

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to the feet, breathing in a deep breath from the very top of your head all the way down to your feet

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and exhaling gratitude for this moment

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taking a big deep breath in knowing I am safe and held here in this moment

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and letting it go

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taking a deep breath in of gratitude

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and exhaling sending wishes for all those

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without safety to find safety and comfort and ease

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take a deep breath in may we all be free of suffering

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take a deep breath out

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breathe in and breathe out

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take a deep breath in

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filling the lungs, filling the belly and exhale

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feel free to sit here as long as you wish following your inhale and exhale

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allowing yourself to be held by the earth

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giving yourself some time to practice a bit of gratitude for the most mundane things of our

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lives that support us and hold us and carry us and care for us

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and sending out some love into the universe wishing that everyone is well provided for

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may everyone feel safe and held and supported and loved

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take a deep breath in and let it go

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may you be happy may you be healthy

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may you be free from suffering

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may all beings be happy may all beings be healthy

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may all beings be free from suffering

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thank you for practicing with me