The Body That Has Been The Reliable One

There is a body that learned early that being needed was safer than being seen. It did not call in. It kept showing up while the others rested. This longer practice is not asking you to stop being reliable. It is asking the body to be off duty for a few minutes, to set the watch down, to stop staying a few seconds on after everyone else has relaxed.

Transcript

There is a body that has been the reliable one. The one that did not call in. The one that kept showing up while the others rested. One that learned early that being needed was safer than being seen. This practice is called the body that has been the reliable one. It is not asking you to stop being reliable. It is asking the body to be off duty for a few minutes. Let your shoulders be a little lower than you usually allow. Let the back of your neck stop holding the people you are not currently with. Let your jaw soften. There is no one you need to be steady for right now. Let one breath arrive. Let one breath leave. The body that has been the reliable one learned to stay on a few seconds after everyone else relaxed. But learn to be a little ready. Always. It did this because someone needed it. And it kept doing it after they stopped needing it. For these few minutes. No one is needing it. This is not abandonment of duty. This is the few minutes the body has been waiting for. I do not have to be the steady one in this moment. My body is allowed to be off duty here. Nothing is being asked of me right now that I have to brace for. I can be reliable later. Without proving it tonight. Body that has been the reliable one. Is allowed to set the watch down. Not forever. Just for now. The people you love will still be loved when you come back. For these few minutes. No one needs you to hold anything.