Written By Queen Psais

Meditation: Gratitude and Love

What are you grateful for?  True gratitude is not just saying ‘thank you’ because as my Jamaican friends would say you have ‘brought up seh’ meaning you were raised correctly.  Gratitude is feeling in your heart that you are truly giving thanks for an experience.

Our world has become one of almost complete immediate gratification.  We are so connected that we don’t even really think.  Have you ever been driving and been in a zone then all of a sudden you realized your phone was ringing or you passed your exit going home?.  How about when you get in the car or on the bus/train on your day off and continue on your route to work, you are in auto mode.  So much of our time is spent ‘doing’ that often we don’t even stop to recognize what we are doing.

We are living in an awesome era: one where we can connect to people who share our likes even though we’ve never met; an era where we are able to read the words of celebrities, political figure and inspirational people as quickly as it takes for them to press enter.  We should be grateful.   Every aspect of our lives is a gift.  The good and the not so good, from the moment we open our eyes we should be grateful.

Recently a friend asked me, “What motivates you?” I replied ‘love’.  He looked at me and said so when you are in love with a man then you are complete.  I said “No I am not talking about romantic love.  That is nice sometimes romantic love can just be different degrees of lust.  I am talking about love for humanity, love for my aspirations, and love for my life.  I am grateful that I am able to experience this feeling and understand what it truly means.”

We as a people often spend time trying to have what someone else has instead of just being grateful for what we have.  Everyone has their own path and we have no idea what that individual endured or sacrificed to have what they have.  Love yourself; I know many of you ladies know about this because you are learning to love your hair.  Let that love trickle down your neck to your spine.  Love your thighs, love your feet.  Yes! I did say love your feet.  In order to exude love you have to internalize love.  I have found the easiest way to do this is through meditation.

Meditation is not something that ‘other’ people do.  Meditation is time set aside to love YOU.  It is time when you just listen to your own breath and enjoy the fact that you are able to breathe.  If you have never done this before don’t be afraid.  I know it seems ‘kinda’ crazy because everything is soooo silent.

How to Meditate

Pick 15-20 minutes of uninterrupted time.  Turn the cell phone ringer off and the TV.  Mothers this will probably work AFTER you put the kids to bed or BEFORE they wake in the morning.  In the beginning I suggest lighting a candle if it is at night or sitting by a window if it is during the day.  Set a timer for the amount of time you choose and close your eyes and think of absolutely nothing.  Allow your thoughts to disappear for just this amount of time.

In the beginning thoughts will come from everywhere.  Like I said before we are so used to being connected we don’t know how to disconnect.  It may take 2-3 times or more before you actually become comfortable with yourself.   Start to breathe; I stay start because we do not consciously breathe.  I want you to consciously breathe.  Concentrate on nothing but your breath.  Take deep breaths and as you exhale let everything that you don’t want to keep with you leave your body, mind and spirit in that moment.  If your mind starts to shift quickly think of things that you are thankful for and things you love.  Try it for at least one full week.  Commit at least 15min to yourself and witness the change in your spirit.