Meditation 31: Gratitude

I have found over the years that a posture of gratitude has had a tremendous impact on my day-to-day living and the depth and connectedness of my relationships. I have discovered that one expression of gratitude seems to beget the next thing(s) I am grateful for. Maybe it’s simply because I turned my attention toward this concept and kept my eyes open, or maybe it’s due to a universal law of attraction & growth—what you water and support, grows.

In either case, gratitude unexpressed (and there are many methods of expression – you can choose your own) is hardly gratitude at all. So I wrote these 31 days of guided meditation to inspire you as the reader (and active participant) to both consider the immense blessings and benefits that surround you each day and also cause you to act upon such felt gratitude in an expression. Doing so keeps the flow of goodness happening in your life.

The concept is simple: I ask a question about a recent topic/item/ interaction/event, and you conceptualize that in your mind and then follow the 1-step activation exercise to consider the gratitude you feel for such, and expression thereof.

Meditation 31: Gratitude contains 31 standalone prompts to cultivate gratitude in your daily life.  Each prompt is meant to be done on the date that corresponds to the number of the prompt. For instance, if today is the 12th of January, you would start on day 12. If you miss a day, you can return to the book and just match the date with the number of the prompt. The prompts are written in a way that allows them to be repeated. (Most of them direct you to think about the most recent occurrence, so your answers will always be evolving) The standalone nature of each prompt allows you to start wherever you are. There’s no pressure to start at the beginning of the month or to try to catch up if you miss a day. No shame. There is no harm in re-engaging with the practice of gratitude, even if you didn’t the day, week, or month before. Each entry is self-contained so you can use them however you’d like to enhance your life.

This compilation is a coffee table style photo book that features my wife’s beautiful photography. She has traveled all over the world and many times over the Continental US and we wanted to share a collection of photos to accompany you on your gratitude journey. Some of these are from our current exploration in the Dominican Republic, or pictures of her beautiful photo clients (all of whom we have their permission to feature) while others are just simple moments captured at home. We hope you are inspired by these pieces of our heart shared with you. Please note, product photos are mockups and the final product may be slightly different than pictured.