spotting small moments of joy

Welcome! This practice, this practice is an invitation to notice Small moments of comfort and of joy. Not toxic positivity, not sweeping everything under the carpet pretending that everything is perfect, but simply widening your awareness beyond stress, beyond the pressures of life, beyond problem-solving, analyzing and planning

you know, your brain will naturally pay attention to threat and difficulty. This doesn't mean anything other than you are human and you have a mind. But we can start to purposefully notice things that feel nice, that feel comforting, nourishing. Okay, these moments might be small.

It might be pausing and taking a deep breath, or noticing the way the sunshine comes in through [00:01:00] the windows, or a really yummy cup of tea. But even though they're small, they are so powerful. So for the next few moments, let's do exactly that

Settling into any position that's good for you. you might be walking, standing, maybe you're sitting on a chair or the floor, or maybe you're lying down. And softening your gaze or closing your eyes.

And bringing your awareness to the touch point between you and the earth beneath you.

Allowing yourself to soften down into these touch points.

And then [00:02:00] noticing your breath Not necessarily needing to change your breath, just noticing what you notice about your breath in this moment.

And then turning your awareness to absolutely anything in this moment that feels even slightly pleasant or nice or comforting. Perhaps there's somewhere in your body that's feeling lovely and warm.

Perhaps the feeling of your breath moving in and out is nice and nourishing. Maybe there's a part of your body that's starting to release tension and relax. Or maybe it's this feeling of pausing even for a moment and finding [00:03:00] some peace.

And you know, if you're struggling to find anything that feels comforting or nice right now, that really is okay. This practice is not about manufacturing happiness. It's about turning attention to neutral things and nice things, to those small moments of joy that are often overlooked in a busy day.

And bringing to mind something small from today that brought you even a flicker of joy. A nice cup of tea, a message from a loved one, some fresh air, the sound of laughter, a great song you loved listening to, [00:04:00] sunlight, a smiling face. And as you bring your attention to whatever small moments of joy come to mind, perhaps noticing what happens in your body as you think of these.

And you might even silently say to yourself, "There are moments of goodness here. There are moments of joy available to me."

And now noticing your whole body all the way down to the tips of your toes, all the way out to the tips of your fingers, and all the way up to the crown of your head. Holding these small moments of joy [00:05:00] as you start to make your breath a little more active. Perhaps wiggling your fingers and toes, your hands and feet, and maybe even taking a lovely deep stretch.

When you're ready, blinking your eyes open if they were closed.

Remembering that these small moments matter. They help to remind us that there is more to our day than difficulty and challenge. I really hope that you found that useful. Thank you so much for practicing with me, and hopefully I'll see you again for this practice tomorrow. [00:06:00]