The Showing Appreciation Meditation

We are all part of an intricate web of inter-dependency and COVID-19 has forcefully brought this reality home to us. We rely on so many people to help us maintain the lifestyle we've become accustomed to, and when those people aren't there we miss them! Here in the UK we are on lock-down. We are allowed out once a day to shop and exercise. All shops apart from pharmacists and food retailers are closed until further notice. Everyone is where possible working from home. We feel the effect of this in small ways, for example my fringe is nearly in my eyes and my roots are showing through and it will be weeks until my hairdresser opens her doors again. And we feel it in big ways: a friend has been waiting for a hip replacement, which will improve her mobility and quality of life, and this has been cancelled due to the pandemic. Schools are closed, so parents are struggling to keep kids occupied indoors, and juggling this with working from home.

In this post I'll share with you a meditation that helps you to cultivate gratitude towards all those people who help make your life run more smoothly. The Showing Appreciation Meditation can be found on page 188 of the Yoga Through the Year book. It helps to strengthen our gratitude "muscle" and stops us from taking people for granted. It's particularly relevant at present as it gives us an opportunity to send good wishes and gratitude to all those "neutral" people in our lives who we usually take for-granted. Before you do the meditation just take a moment now to consider all the people who are helping you to get through the COVID-19 pandemic: the front-line health workers, shop assistants, online delivery people, food growers, postal workers, water, gas, electricity, and internet providers, and the list goes on
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The Showing Appreciation Meditation 
This meditation engenders positive feelings towards self and others.
Allow 10-20 minutes.

Find yourself a comfortable, erect sitting position, either on the floor, or in an upright chair. Or if you prefer this meditation can be done lying down.

Relax the parts of your body that are in contact with floor down into the earth. Let go of any unnecessary tension; relax your shoulders down away from your ears; and soften your face by adopting a half-smile.

Now become aware of the natural flow of your breath and maintain a background awareness of the breath throughout the meditation.

We begin by cultivating a sense of gratitude and loving kindness towards our self. Recall three things that make you feel grateful towards yourself. If you are finding it hard to think of anything, see if you can find just one small thing you like about yourself and feel grateful for. If you find yourself lapsing into self-criticism, congratulate yourself for noticing this, and send yourself some love and compassion.
Now silently repeat several times the Loving Kindness phrases for yourself:
May I be safe,
May I be happy,
May I be healthy,
May I live with ease.

Now bring to mind someone who you are close to and who helps your life to run more smoothly. Consider all the things that this person does for you, big or small, and all the ways that they improve your quality of life. Send your gratitude and thanks to this person; thank them for the many ways they contribute to your happiness.

Now silently repeat the Loving Kindness phrases a few times for this person (if you wish you can insert their name into the phrase):
May you be safe,
May you be happy,
May you be healthy,
May you live with ease.

Now bring to mind a neutral person; someone who helps you in some way but who you don’t know very well. Choose someone who you don’t have strong feelings towards either way, but who makes your life run more smoothly. Perhaps they are someone who delivers your mail; or serves you in a shop; a cleaner at your place of work; or a bus driver etc. Send your gratitude and thanks to this person; thank them for the help that they give to you. Silently repeat the Loving Kindness phrases a few times for this person:
May you be safe,
May you be happy,
May you be healthy,
May you live with ease.

Now picture yourself, your friend, and the neutral person altogether. Picture all three of you looking safe, happy, healthy, and at ease. Just like you the friend and the neutral person want to be happy and free from suffering. Just like you their life has ups and downs.  And just like you they rely on others to help and support them and to make their life run smoothly.  
Repeat the loving kindness phrases for the three of you:
May we all be safe,
May we all be happy,
May we all be healthy,
May we all live with ease.

After repeating the phrases a number of times, let them go and finish by once more sending yourself good wishes, loving kindness, and compassion. Resolve to take these feelings of love, kindness, and gratitude for yourself and others back into your everyday life. 

For an audio version of a similar meditation visit the Finding Peace in a Frantic World website and listen to their Befriending Meditation. 

For shorter Loving Kindness meditations see my other recent posts:
Spread Kindness not the Virus 
Find Peace With Compassionate Walking