Good to have you here.
Let your body settle into something easy to hold.
Sitting works,
Lying down works.
Take whichever one you can reach without a fuss.
Move until the position gets better.
Shift your weight,
Lengthen your spine a little,
Then let it soften.
You can keep adjusting all the way through this track.
Put your hands down somewhere,
Thighs,
Belly or the surface beside you.
Let the weight of them go into whatever they're touching.
Let your eyes settle.
Closed is good.
Half lowered and open,
With your gaze soft on the floor,
Is equally good.
Stay with whichever you pick for the whole track.
Notice where your body meets what's holding it,
The chair or the bed under you,
The place your hands have landed,
Your feet on the floor if they get there.
This support is on offer for the rest of the track.
When you want something steady,
This is where to come.
Follow one breath in and out.
It sets its own pace and you're here while that happens.
In a moment we turn toward a task that's been waiting for you.
Take this with you first.
Everything here is an invitation and getting anything done is beside the point today.
If the practice starts to press on you,
Let the words go past you and rest your attention on what's underneath you.
Resting there is a full practice on its own.
You can stop whenever you like and try again another time.
You may have arrived here with something you have been circling,
A task,
A message,
A form,
A piece of work,
Something where the first move seems to carry a great deal of weight.
Bring that task to mind now in the plainest way you can.
Its name,
And where it lives.
A screen,
A page,
A room,
A phone.
Notice how it is to hold it there.
Some people feel it somewhere in the body.
Some notice the mind speeding up.
Whatever arrives is welcome and it can stay exactly as it is.
Stay aware of what supports you while the task remains in view.
Now put the whole task down for a few minutes.
The finished version,
The standard you have in mind,
The timing,
The people who may see it.
Set all of it on the ground beside you.
It is still there and you're putting it down for a little while.
What remains is a much smaller thing,
One beginning,
One first move,
That takes under two minutes.
Let it appear now.
Opening the document and typing the ugliest possible first line.
Writing the name of the person you owe a reply to.
Putting the three things you need on the table in front of you.
Something so small,
It seems almost funny to count it.
When you have one,
Hold it lightly and picture the first 10 seconds of doing it.
Your hand reaching,
The screen opening,
The first mark on the page.
Picture that beginning finishing exactly where it finishes.
Rough,
Partial,
Open.
With the rest of it still ahead of you.
That is what it looks like when this goes well.
And afterwards you'll know something about the task that you can only learn by touching it.
If a thought arrives with an opinion about the size of this step,
You can let it speak and keep your attention here.
Your care about doing this well is real and it's welcome to travel with you.
Here is a sentence you can carry out of this practice.
Try it if it fits or listen and let the words go by.
Here is the sentence.
This small beginning is allowed to be enough.
Notice how those words landed.
Any response is welcome here.
If it feels useful,
Say it after me.
Listening again is equally good.
This small beginning is allowed to be enough.
In a moment you'll come back to the room.
The choice about whether to take that step today stays entirely with you.
You can take it in the next 5 minutes,
Or later,
Or let it wait for another day.
Choosing freely is part of the practice.
Let the practice finish here.
Let the room gather back around you and feel where your body is being held.
Let your breath open out if it wants to.
Move your fingers,
Move your toes.
Eyes that have been closed can open at their own speed.
A soft gaze can come back into focus on the room.
Look after yourself and let that first move stay small.
