Welcome to the baobab tree.
Just find your comfy space warm and cozy and just allow your body to soften.
Your shoulders,
Really.
Your jaw relax.
Feel your body settling in and letting go.
Begin to gently notice your breath.
As it moves in.
And flows out without effort.
So now there is nowhere you need to go.
Just arrive here.
In this moment just as you are.
So you see yourself in a wide-open landscape.
It is quiet.
And spacious.
It's where the sky stretches endlessly above.
How in the center of this land stands a baobab tree.
At first glance.
May not appear to be remarkable.
It does not grow tall and slender.
It does not reach sharply toward the sky.
But its trunk is so wide.
And its shape unusual.
And its beauty is not immediately obvious.
And yet,
This tree has stood here for years.
Quietly becoming exactly what it is meant to be.
It's not compared itself to the trees that grow differently.
It has simply followed its own nature.
In its own time.
You move towards this tree.
And you sit down with this baobab tree.
And you begin to notice something more.
It's the way its trunk holds water.
So it's been sustaining life throughout the dry seasons.
The way its branches,
They spread wide and they offer shelter.
And in this way it becomes a quiet refuge for all who come near.
And so its beauty was never missing.
It was just not immediately seen.
Maybe there are places within you that feel the same.
Parts of you that do not look the way you expected.
That have grown slowly.
Or differently.
Or quietly.
Parts of you that you may have overlooked or not yet recognized as being you.
Beautiful.
But like this tree,
There is a deeper way of seeing.
It's a way that does not rush to judge or compare or measure.
It's a way that simply allows.
And in that allowing,
You begin to notice.
And in Taoist understanding.
There is a natural unfolding.
A way of becoming.
The tree does not try to be beautiful.
It does not try to be enough.
But it simply grows in harmony with what it is.
And in that noticing.
It becomes something quietly extraordinary.
Just like you.
So just let yourself breathe here with this knowing.
Inhale gently.
And exhale slowly.
And just allow the breath.
To soften any place that feels tight or uncertain.
Breathe in.
And slowly release.
Softening those tight or uncertain areas.
Just continue in your own time for three more breaths.
And once more,
Inhale.
Exhale.
Just feel those areas beginning to soften.
As your body lets go.
So,
You do not need to see everything all at once,
And you do not need to understand it all.
But just like the beer bag.
There is a beauty.
Within you.
It's still unfolding,
Still deepening,
Still becoming visible in its own time.
It does not need to look like anyone else's.
It only needs to be allowed.
It's your beauty.
It's your breath.
It's just you.
Just rest here for a few moments.
With your breath.
With your body.
Just notice the quiet life within you.
Study.
Present.
Beautiful.
And when you're ready,
Just begin to gently return.
Bring your awareness back to your breath.
To your body.
And just carry with you this softer way of seeing.
A small sense of the beauty that has been with you all along.
Gently roll your shoulders now,
Give yourself a gentle stretch.
Gently open your eyes.
And just remember the invitation that is always with you.
To soften.
To breathe and reconnect with the quiet beauty.
Within you.
Namaste,
My friend.
