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Happy Hour: Gratitude for the Ten Thousand Joys Enables Meeting the Ten Thousand Worldly Sorrows

Introduction

Hello, and welcome everyone to Happy Hour. It is lovely to be with you.

For today's practice, I'd like to invite us to hold both the sorrows and the joys of the world. It is said that there are ten thousand joys and ten thousand sorrows. At times when it seems like the political landscape, the world landscape, and the geopolitical landscape are so dire, our minds turn to what is painful, what is difficult, all the suffering in the world. Yes, there is a lot of suffering in the world right now that we hold with care, with compassion. We turn towards it; we don't turn away.

In order to support being able to turn more towards difficulty and sadness with compassion, it is helpful to resource ourselves, to resource our hearts with gratitude for what is good in the world, in our lives, for the people we care about and love. This resources ourselves so that challenges, pain, difficulty, sorrow, and grief are not the measure of all our waking hours. It can be so difficult and draining, and not helpful for anyone, if we are not resourced to be able to hold, witness, support, and do what we can in the world. If we are unsettled, if we are toppled over, it doesn't help anyone. It doesn't help us, it doesn't help our loved ones, and it doesn't help anyone in the world. So it is helpful to have that sense of balance.

This past week we've practiced with equanimity. We've practiced with equanimity and compassion. We practiced with stability and compassion. These are just different ways to bring stability to our practice of compassion. Tonight, I'd like to extend that and invite us to dare, to have the courage to practice gratitude and joy in order to balance, in order to support the compassion for the pain and difficulty in the world. It's not about turning away. It's not about, "La-di-da, I'm just going to be happy," and being a Pollyanna. That's not the idea. I know you know this, but I'd still like to say it. It's about skillfully using skillful means to be balanced, to be resourced, to be filled with stability, gladness, and choice, so that we can contain and be available for more compassion in the world. This ensures we don't have what's called empathy fatigue or empathic distress.

That's the invitation: to engage with gratitude and with joy tonight and not feel guilty or bad that there are people suffering in the world. Yes, and there is also joy in the world. It's okay. It's okay to honor both. It's okay in our humanity to embrace both, to honor both, not turning away from either, appreciating both. Really shifting the perspective, an awakened perspective that allows both joy and sorrows, all of that, to be just as it is. Just as it is, without toppling over. In this practice tonight, it's an invitation to shift our perspective in that way.

Guided Meditation

Let's enter our meditation posture and practice together. Whatever you need, I'll share with you in the guided meditation. If you need to sit, shift, lie down, or even stand, see what your body needs in this moment. Perhaps, if you feel comfortable, closing your eyes in this moment, turning your gaze inward.

Letting go, releasing. Releasing what's not helpful in this moment: thoughts, worries, preoccupations. Giving our heart, our awareness, fully, heartfully to the inner world for a moment. Just settle. Just to settle and arrive.

Feeling our feet on the floor. Stable, grounded. The bottom of our feet. A well-rooted tree.

Releasing into our legs. The upper legs, lower legs, and feet. Let them be grounded. Let them be heavy. Enjoying the sensations of the legs, of the feet. Not a privilege to be taken for granted.

Feeling the sensations of the sit bones, your bottom, and the cushion or the chair. The contact points. Releasing the weight of your upper body into your sit bones.

If there's any tension in the upper body, neck, shoulders, your forehead, jaw, chest, abdomen—let them be released. Smilingly released.

Allowing the breath to move freely through the body. This life-giving breath, like a lullaby. Like a lullaby. Calming, soothing. Each in-breath. Every out-breath. There, there. There, there.

And as thoughts arise—as they will arise—it's okay. Simply noticing when a thought has arisen and smilingly thanking it. "Thank you, and not now. Please come back later. Right now I'm giving myself, my heart wholeheartedly to this practice." Taking refuge in this moment. No need for criticism or judgment. Just releasing smilingly.

And letting there be a sense of appreciation for this breath. This in-breath. This out-breath. Releasing, relaxing the body.

Maybe there's an area of the body that feels good, content, peaceful, warm, stable, relaxed. Any of those qualities. Let yourself enjoy it. Maybe there's an area that feels like a warm, sunny day. Maybe your hands. Maybe your cheeks, your feet. Or your breath in the abdomen. The simple blessing of the warm, sunny day, the sun, felt in your body.

Maybe in your heart center. Let there be enjoyment. Let yourself relish it. Let your heart be full of this goodness. Open up to it. If there is any hesitation or fear, say, "Thank you. Thank you, dear protective qualities, emotions. Not needed right now. This is safe. It's trustworthy in this moment."

Let your body be nourished. And your heart. Appreciate the goodness, the simplicity of just sitting and being breathed. The sensations of this body. The stillness. The groundedness. The spaciousness within. The heart center, as if your breath is expanding inside. Do not shy away from tasting how delicious it might be to just sit and be breathed.

If you've ever seen a butterfly in the sun, opening and closing its wings rhythmically, warming itself. The grace, the beauty. The colorfulness of the wings of emotion. Your breath, too. This beautiful, rhythmic warming of your wings in the sun. Of your beautiful wings in the sun. Wings of awareness, riding on the breath.

Let there be this inner nourishment with the breath. Enjoying what's comfortable, what's beautiful inside. Maybe it's the joy of the mind being quiet and still deliciously for a few breaths. Taking refuge in silence and peace. Simple gratitude for this breath. Now for this breath. And then again for this breath. See what happens if you keep being grateful for each breath. Each new breath. See what happens when it builds up.

Can there be gratitude, appreciation, for knowing? For awareness? This amazing, indescribable ability to know. To be aware of sensations, of thoughts, of the breath, of sound. This amazing miracle that we all have, or are privy to have the privilege of. Which we can't turn off, can't turn on. It just is. Can there be a sense of appreciation or awe, gratitude for the gift of knowing? Indescribable, in being human. Feeling the gift of feeling, sensing, knowing.

Can there be a sense of appreciation for the Sangha^[1] supporting you? Practicing together with others. The goodness of this invisible web of humanity supporting us. The people we know, the people we don't, coming together. We wouldn't be here if it weren't for others' support and participation. Letting the goodness of that in.

Is there something that you're grateful for today? Maybe in this moment, or today, or this past week. Let your heart open and appreciate, really relish. As if you're polishing a sacred stone. Stay with it. Stay with this appreciation. Let it bring a smile to your face, and ease to your heart. Gladness, joy to your heart. Let your heart feel expansive in gratitude and joy for this blessing.

Can you be glad for your own gladness? For your own good fortune? Can you be glad for your own gladness? Can you be glad for this blessing in your life? For yourself, as if you're stepping out of yourself. Feel free to bring to mind another blessing. Maybe someone in your life, maybe a friendship, or a family member, or a gift of some kind. Another one, if you wish, or you can stay with this one. Whatever expands your heart in joy and gladness.

Staying embodied. Feeling your body, the breath, the groundedness of the feet, the hands. While allowing your heart to feel expansive, relishing goodness, gratitude, and blessings.

For the last minutes of this practice period, letting our hearts be expansive. As we can contain more joy, we have more space to meet with compassion the sorrow and grief in the world. So, offering the gift of our joy to ourselves, to the world, as a blessing, as an empowerment to support us to serve others. Deeply bowing in our hearts with gratitude for the blessings, for the joys, and allowing there to be alignment to serve the best way we can. Serve others in their joy and their sorrows.

May all beings everywhere be safe, happy, healthy, and at ease. May all beings everywhere have joy, including ourselves. May they be free.

Thank you for your practice, everyone.

Reflections

I hope there are at least a few mind moments of joy, of gladness, of expansiveness, of stability, or maybe even a smile or two showed up on your face. I hope so. I'd like to open the space for any reflections you'd like to share as a gift to others. Maybe an "aha" moment, something that opened up. Or something that was challenging; that's okay too, of course. Especially if you haven't spoken for a while or shared, please feel free to raise your Zoom hand. If it's your physical hand, I won't see you. You can type in chat. If it's typed to everyone, I will read your name. If it's typed just to me privately, it's only your reflection. Charles, please. Oh, thank you.

Charles: Hi everybody. Can you hear me?

Nikki: Yes, yep.

Charles: Okay, great. Just the phrase "being breathed" really opened things up for me. I don't have words for it, but it just felt so caring and like it was being held. Held by the air, held by the atmosphere. Just really beautiful. So thank you.

Nikki: Thank you, Charlie. I am so moved by your sharing, by your report. The way you felt held and carried is really permeating, resonating through the peace of your words, of the space you're in, and that carries me into it more deeply. So thank you for that. Beautiful. Thank you for your practice, Charlie. Yeah.

Beautiful. Fazel says, "Thank you very much. It was perfect after a long, stressful day. A reset to a mindset of gratitude." Ah, thank you, Fazel. Thank you for those words.

And Larry says, "You led me into my clenched heart and allowed me to play around in there." Oh, thank you, Larry, for being led into your clenched heart and playing around there like a butterfly spreading your wings.

Thank you all for your practice, so beautiful. And your sharing too, and the other reflections, questions, comments, complaints, before we turn into holding each other.

Deborah says, "Thank you for helping me notice all the many wonderful people and moments in the day." Ah, thank you, Deborah. I am touched with that reflection. All the wonderful people and moments. So many of them. It's amazing being human. Even if there are sufferings, challenges, pain, difficulties, still there's just this blessing. This blessing. There's so much blessing even in the midst of challenges. So thank you for your practice, everyone.

If there are no more reflections, I'd like to invite us to share in small groups. Sharing our joy, sharing our gratitude. It's actually such a beautiful practice. So the invitation tonight, after about 15 seconds of silent metta^[2] for ourselves and for others, is to go around, round and round. The first person shares something they're grateful for—something in their life, maybe in the moment, maybe it's just as simple as, "Ah, I had a moment to sit and be breathed tonight." And then the next person shares a nugget, something they're grateful for. And then the next person shares a nugget. This way we go around, round-robin. Instead of one person sharing a monologue, it's more sharing in nuggets. This format is called the spiral because we keep going around and increasing joy. It's so nourishing to hold other people's joy. Just hearing what they're grateful for brings us joy. Notice the vicarious joy^[3] that can come up. It's so nourishing and can be so lovely. I'm creating the rooms. Take care of yourselves, take care of each other. I'm going to open the rooms. Take care. Here we go.

[Breakout rooms commence]

And the rooms are closed. Everybody is back. Welcome back, everyone. I see folks smiling. This is sweet. We have a couple of minutes for any reflections. What happened? What did you notice? Especially those who are smiling, we'd love to hear from you. Yes, person who's on the phone, please. Michael, is that Michael? Oops. You're there now. You're unmuted.

Michael: Okay, now I'm unmuted. Pardon me. Apologies. I am so grateful for the prompt and the teaching this evening. I think this was really rich, and I'd love to be able to do it like once a week. The prompt of going round-robin for things that we're grateful for that bring us joy.

Nikki: What was that like for you tonight in the round-robin, Michael?

Michael: Uplifting. It watered my happiness seeds.

Nikki: Oh, that's so sweet. "Watered my happiness seeds." I love that! Oh, that's so sweet. Thank you for that. May your happiness seeds always be watered! This is so great, I love that. Well, maybe since you requested, I will bring in more joy. Maybe once a week we will do joy for a while. It's kind of fun, right? You can't have enough joy and gratitude. Thanks for that request, Michael.

Fazel says, "We laughed a lot." Oh, that's great. That's very sweet. That makes me happy.

Any other reflections? Anybody want to share?

Katrin says, "The things other people shared prompted me to think of other things I am grateful for." Oh, that is great! Isn't that awesome? Oh, that's so fantastic.

Peggy says, "Grateful for my little group that so reminds me of the prevalence of good, kind people in the world." Oh, that's sweet.

Tess says, "My heart felt full." Ah, yeah. That's great. Yeah.

Oh yes, and I see Neil. Neil, you get to have the last word, my dear.

Neil: I just want to say I am just so grateful for you, Nikki, for Diana, these classes, and the Sangha. You know, it is such a big part of my life, and yeah.

Nikki: Oh, thank you, Neil. And we feel grateful for you. All of you. And since you spoke, I'll make it personal, especially you, because you offer so much support to the Sangha as a regular member. I see people are nodding, appreciating you. And you help support the mailing list. Not to make you blush right now, but if you're blushing it's okay. Please take in the appreciation and the goodness from me, from Diana, and the whole Sangha. So thank you, Neil. And also for that beautiful reflection. Yeah. And thank you all.

Katrin says, "Echoing Neil." Yeah, and thank you, Neil. Exactly.

Thank you all. Thank you for your practice. Thank you for your beautiful practice, for showing up, for supporting yourselves, each other. It's such a mutual goodness co-created in the world. Happy Hour makes me happy every time. So thank you. Deep gratitude to all of you, and all the causes and conditions. May we all be happy, joyous, and free. And all beings everywhere as well.

Thank you all. Thank you.