Welcome to this gentle space of calm.
Let's start by softening your jaw,
Maybe unclenching your hands and letting your shoulders drop.
Inhale and exhaling.
This is where reflection begins.
As always in these meditations,
Your notebook is welcome here but your presence is enough.
Closing your eyes if that feels right or simply taking a soft downward gaze.
You're here because there's something different or new around the corner.
With this event or appointment or life transition,
What specific emotion is running through your body?
Where do you feel it?
It's okay and it's natural to feel nervous about something new or something different.
But what do we know about newness?
What do we know about stepping into a new territory,
A new environment?
We know it can be a time of reinvention,
A time to showcase the sides and layers of yourself that maybe haven't been welcomed in in the past.
What we know about newness is asking how you can make this new opportunity work in a unique way or asking yourself how can you empower yourself in this moment.
Newness can be a place where your ability to notice is heightened.
Maybe you have a meeting with someone for the first time.
Maybe you are about to have an invasive appointment.
Perhaps you have a big appearance which will challenge you to step outside of your comfort zone.
But what do we know about stepping outside of our comfort zone?
We know this is an environment for growth.
Perhaps you are about to take a test or an exam.
Maybe you just feel this sense of nervousness about an impending unstoppable transition in life.
So settle in and let me tell you a story.
I remember starting a new job,
New people,
New environment.
Feeling the fears rush through my body.
Fears connected to the pressure to leave a piece of myself behind.
But I focused on how I wanted to feel.
How do you want to feel in this moment?
How do you want to feel after this new event?
Picking one easy-to-offer activity to look forward to after this event or appointment.
Focusing now on that activity and feeling yourself inside of that activity.
Noticing whatever comes up for you.
Paying attention now to what's showing up in your body.
Is it tingly?
Are there any spots that feel warm or cool?
What do you notice about the air around you?
Could this activity become a regular addition to how you serve yourself on a daily basis?
Or maybe it simply becomes a one-off special activity to pull from.
Maybe it's not an activity at all.
Maybe during this event or appointment or meeting or exam or new transition in life,
You sit with an object that holds emotional value.
You carry it with you.
It becomes a pillar and maybe a compass.
An object that gives you new breath.
Breathing in and slowly breathing out.
We all feel anxiety in some way shape or form.
It is a part of our gift of living.
But how we respond to it is key because it is our nature to feed it.
But we can acknowledge this emotion.
We can acknowledge this feeling.
And we can steer into something we can control.
We can decide how to show up,
How to treat ourselves.
We can create something tangible to hold,
To carry in our pockets.
What gentle invitation can I offer you from this story?
I want you to pay attention to any words that are popping up in your mind right now.
And if it feels right,
Jot them down on the page.
Moving our feelings and our words from inside to the external page sometimes is all we need.
What are you noticing right now?
Has anything changed?
Have any ideas stuck around at the back of your mind?
What do we know about newness?
We know that stepping into a new world is an opportunity to show up with a piece of ourselves that we've never shown anyone before.
This is the power of possibilities.
This is the power of slowing down.
This is the power of going in.
Paying attention now to what's showing up in your body.
Is it tingly?
Are there any spots that feel warm or cool?
What do you notice about the air around you?
What do you notice about that feeling of nervousness right now?
Think about that activity or task that you want to spend time in after this new event.
And if something's stirred,
Let it land on the page.
Even a single word is enough.
