Welcome to day 1 of the “30 Days to Thriving with Anxiety” journey!

This is going to be a really fun adventure. In the next 30 days you are going to receive a daily meditation, affirmation, challenge or all three at once.

And the best part is there is only 1 rule: Have fun!

This isn’t another performance task to tack onto an already way-too-busy schedule. If you are so overwhelmed you miss a day, don’t have time or energy to do a challenge, or simply can’t be bothered – no problem!

This tool is here to support you, not stress you out. Listen to your body. Have fun with the journey. And above all things, be kind to yourself.

With all that said, let’s turn to our first meditation/challenge for the month. We are going to start off really simple: with an invitation to the practice of gratitude.

Life is a pretty tough gig and sometimes we fall into the habit of anticipating bad stuff before it comes. It’s kind of like borrowing trouble from the future, crossing bridges we might never otherwise come across.

Today, let’s try something a little different. Pause for a moment to take in the air, the sky, and the soil. Let’s commit to cradling them and inhaling their beauty. It might be tough at first, but you are not alone. Tons of other people are reading this right now with you!

So together, let’s root our minds in the goodness that surrounds us. Feel the dirt between your toes. Breathe in the air and imagine its strands filling your lungs. There is beauty there. So much beauty!

Rather than focusing on the bad, rehearsing some fear that may or may not come, or amplifying things we can’t control until we lose hope, let’s commit to the practice of gratitude.

Today, together, we can choose to focus on that which gives life, on the beauty of the earth, on the little things that keep us going, on the smile of a loved one, on the embrace of God surrounding us in breeze, and flower and cloud.

Let unrest and negativity go to sleep. And together, let’s contemplate the wow.