Meditate with Appreciation for the World

When I meditate, I conjure up gratitude in order to efface distractive thoughts from entering my consciousness. In my imagination I would approach a person with a smile and bows. Sometimes I would say, “Thank you,” and bow deeper. Another time I would simply give him/her a big hug. My imagination would them leap to another person to share my appreciation with. He/she could be a family member, a relative or a friend. Other times I would go to hug a refugee, an indentured worker, an insect, a rodent, or a giant animal. I would dive deep into the sea to squeeze a turtle or fly high into the space to embrace the earth. I would purposely visualize the face of a person whom I dislike and thank him/her.

Time slips and street noise disappears when I meditate this way. The meditation lasts only for a few minutes. However, when I am done I feel peaceful as if the world has opened to me. It is so soothing to be appreciative even just in my imagination that the effect stays in me for the remainder of the day.