Begin by finding stillness.
Let your body rest into the earth beneath you.
Feel the gentle rise and fall of your breath,
And the subtle rhythm of your heartbeat.
Take a slow breath in through your nose,
And a long,
Easy exhale through your mouth.
With every breath,
Allow your body to soften.
Shoulders melting,
Jaw unclenched,
Heart opening.
Now listen as a story unfolds,
A story about seeking and finding and remembering what has always been.
Once in a quiet valley where sunlight spilled like honey through the pines,
There lived a young bird named Luma.
Her feathers shimmered,
The color of dawn,
And her heart was filled with a longing for something she could not yet name.
One evening she heard two swallows whisper,
The sky is endless,
It is where freedom lives.
Luma's heart fluttered,
Endless she thought,
Freedom!
And that night under a crescent moon,
She whispered to the stars,
I will find the sky.
So at first light,
She began her journey.
She flew over rivers glistening like silver threads,
Across meadows soft with dew and lavender.
Each time she met another bird,
She asked,
Do you know where the sky begins?
The sparrows chirped,
Perhaps beyond the clouds?
The ravens croaked,
Maybe past the mountains?
The wise stork said softly,
Keep flying.
And so she did.
She climbed higher and higher through layers of cloud and light and wind until her wings ached and her breath grew thin.
Still,
She saw no edge,
No doorway,
No place called sky.
At last she landed on an old oak branch,
Tired and discouraged.
Will I ever find it?
She whispered.
From the hollow of the tree,
An owl stirred,
Eyes glowing like moonlight.
He spoke gently,
Little one,
Open your eyes.
The sky is not a place you reach.
It's the space that has always held you.
Luma looked around her,
Above,
Below,
And all around.
The endless blue,
The breath of the wind,
The quiet pulse of life.
The truth shimmered in her chest.
She had never been without it.
A laugh of joy rose from her heart.
She spread her wings wide and felt the sky embrace her.
All this time,
She whispered,
I was searching for what has always been here.
And from that moment,
Luma no longer sought the sky.
She became it.
Every breath was sky,
Every heartbeat,
Freedom,
Every flight,
Belonging.
Now take a deep breath in and imagine yourself as Luma.
Held,
Supported,
Surrounded by infinite space.
Feel the air move around you,
The gentle current of life beneath your skin.
There is nothing to chase,
Nothing to find.
You are already home.
Let that truth settle into your heart.
What you seek is already within you.
Take a deep,
Grounding breath in.
And a slow,
Peaceful breath out.
Begin to notice the sensations of your body again.
The ground beneath you.
The sounds of your room.
The rhythm of your breath.
If you'd like,
Place one hand over your heart and whisper silently to yourself,
I am held,
I am free,
I am already in the sky.
Stay here for a moment longer.
And when you're ready,
Gently return to the present.
Carrying the sky within you.
