Hello everyone,
This is Coach Tan.
Today's meditation is called The Stones They Left for Us.
First,
I want you to begin by finding a comfortable position.
Let your body be supported by the chair,
In the floor,
The earth beneath you.
It feels safe,
Gentle.
Close your eyes.
Take a deep,
Slow breath through your nose and release it through your mouth.
And again.
Inhale steadily and exhale softly,
Allowing your breath to return to its natural rhythm.
Nothing to control,
Nothing to improve,
Just noticing.
Bring awareness to the top of your head.
Let the muscles of your forehead relax.
Unclench your jaw.
Allow your tongue to rest easily in your mouth.
Soften your shoulders as if they are melting downward with gravity's help.
Let your chest rise and fall naturally.
Now unclench your hands.
Relax your belly.
Feel your legs heavy and supported.
You are held.
Even as the world feels uncertain,
Your body is safe in this moment.
Now allow your attention to widen.
Notice how much information you carry each day.
Worry,
Heartbreak,
Anger,
Fear,
Grief.
So much happening beyond your reach.
So much pain in the world.
It can feel overwhelming to witness so much suffering and still be expected to live our ordinary lives.
If you've been asking yourself,
How do we keep going like this?
Know that you are not weak for wondering.
You are human.
Long before our time,
Before headlines and endless updates,
People also lived through heavy times.
They faced wars and plagues,
Oppression,
Collapse,
Uncertainty about the future.
And each generation asked the same question.
How do we live when the world feels broken?
A story was passed down.
It said that during the hardest times,
People gather not to predict the future,
But to remember the past.
They spoke of those who came before them,
Those who endured winters they thought would never end,
Those who lived through darkness and still planted seeds,
Those who loved and laughed and created and cared.
Even then,
And to remember this,
They used stones.
When the world felt frightening or cruel,
Each person would walk to the riverbred and choose a stone.
Not to carry the whole world,
Just to feel something solid in their hands.
The stone reminded them others have stood where you stand now.
Smooth stones from many hands before theirs,
Shaped by time,
Worn by survival.
As you breathe gently now,
Imagine yourself standing near that river.
The water moves steadily as it has always.
You reach down and lift a stone,
Feel its weight in your palm.
Cruel,
Grounded,
Real.
It does not promise that everything will be easy.
It simply says this moment has existed before and it passed.
The elders have taught we do not get through hard times by knowing the ending.
We get through them by remembering we are not the first.
Every stone carried a story.
Someone else lived through uncertainty.
Someone else feared for the world.
Someone else doubted humanity and it kept going anyway.
And now this strength rests quietly in your hands.
Notice your breath.
Steady,
Faithful,
Just like the breath of those who came before you.
You are breathing the same air humanity has always breathed.
During chaos,
During healing,
During rebirth,
The same rhythm,
The same pulse.
The stone teaches this.
You are not meant to solve the world.
You are meant to survive it with your humanity intact.
To love where you can,
To rest when needed,
To say stop and be soft when the world invites hardness,
Just stop.
This is how people have made it through every dark chapter,
Through uncertainty,
Through certainty,
But through connection.
Now imagine placing your stone beside many others,
Not as a monument to despair,
But as proof,
Proof that people endured,
That kindness survived,
And that the world has broken before and healing followed again and again.
Take a slow breath in.
As you exhale,
Allow a quiet knowing to settle in your body.
We will get through this,
Not because it's easy,
Not because it's fast,
But because humans always have together.
Begin to return your awareness gently to your body.
Feel your feet,
Your legs,
Your hands resting.
Notice the rise and fall of your chest.
Relax your shoulders once more.
Let your jaw soften.
Let your face rest.
Before opening your eyes,
Remind yourself you are not naive for believing in goodness.
You are remembering.
You are remembering the long line of people behind you who kept choosing hope even when the world gave them reasons not to.
You carry that wisdom now,
And when you're ready,
Take one final breath in and release it slowly.
The ground is still beneath you.
The path continues ahead,
And you are not walking in it alone.
Thank you and Namaste.
