Find a comfortable position and allow your body to settle into the ground beneath you.
Let the earth hold you.
Close your eyes and take a deep,
Slow breath in and a long,
Gentle breath out.
Just continue breathing softly,
Without effort,
As if the breath itself were breathing you.
As you rest here,
Bring your attention inward.
Notice the sensations in your body.
The weight of your bones.
The rise and fall of your chest.
The gentle rhythm of breath moving through you.
Allow yourself to arrive fully in this moment.
There is nowhere else to be.
Nothing else to do.
Just you,
Here,
Now.
Just bring this truth into your awareness,
That so much of your life is beyond your control.
The past cannot be undone.
It is sealed,
Like words already spoken,
Into the wind.
The future cannot be forced.
It remains a mystery,
A story unwritten.
You cannot control the turning of the seasons,
The shifting of the tides,
Or the choices of another human being.
Just feel the relief in acknowledging this.
The weight of trying to control what is uncontrollable.
It can be set down here,
In this breath.
And yet,
There is a circle of freedom that belongs to you.
You control what you do.
Every action,
Every gesture,
Every word you speak flows from your intention.
Just feel the quiet strength of this responsibility.
You are the artist of your actions.
You also control what you don't do.
You can choose not to enter conflict.
You can choose not to pick up another as anger.
You can choose not to follow the old habits that keep you from peace.
Restraint is also power.
Let yourself feel the strength in doing less,
In stepping back,
In letting go.
Now bring your awareness to the field of your mind.
Thoughts arise here like clouds in the sky,
Or like seeds carried in the wind.
You control what you think.
Not the first appearance of the thought,
But whether you choose to water it,
Whether you choose to allow it to take root.
You can nurture thoughts of kindness and gratitude.
You can release thoughts of criticism and fear.
You can tend this inner garden with care.
And you control how you respond.
Life will bring you the unexpected.
Words will be spoken that you did not invite.
Situations will arise that you cannot prevent.
Remember this.
You cannot control what people say.
Their words are not yours to command.
And you cannot truly know what is happening in the secret places of your mind.
You cannot control the forces of their lives.
Every person carries unseen burdens,
Battles you cannot see.
Their words,
Their actions,
Their moods,
Are shaped by storms and stories invisible to you.
When you release the need to control them,
You free yourself.
You step into peace.
Now reflect on expectations.
So often suffering comes not from life itself,
But from the way it fails to match the picture we carry in our minds.
We expect events to unfold in a certain way.
We expect people to behave according to our script.
We expect words of kindness,
A certain response,
An outcome that validates our hopes.
But expectations are fragile glass.
They shatter easily against reality.
And when they break,
We feel a sharpness of disappointment.
Ask yourself,
What would it feel like to meet life without expectation?
What would it feel like to allow people to be exactly who they are,
Without needing them to behave differently?
When you release expectation,
You make space for acceptance.
When you accept,
You discover peace.
Bring to mind now a situation in your life that is outside your control.
Perhaps it involves another person.
Perhaps it is an event you are waiting for.
A future outcome you long to shape.
Notice if there is an expectation attached to it.
Notice the weight of that expectation.
Feel how it takes you.
Tugs you.
And now take a slow,
Steady breath in.
And as you exhale,
Whisper silently to yourself,
I release my expectation.
I release my need to control.
I accept life as it is.
In acceptance,
I find peace.
Just let those words echo gently in your heart.
And now let go of the situation.
Let go of the need to hold it.
Return to the breath.
Steady and calm.
Inhale.
Exhale.
Each breath a reminder of the present moment.
Here in this space,
You are free.
You are whole.
You control your actions.
You control your choices.
You control your thoughts.
You control your responses.
Everything else,
You release.
Everything else,
You allow.
And in that allowing,
You find peace.
Take one more deep breath in.
And a long,
Slow breath out.
Rest in the stillness you have created.
A stillness born not from controlling life,
But from surrendering to it.
Carry this peace with you,
Knowing you can return here any time you remember what you control and what you can release.
Gently become aware of your body's contact with the chair.
Become aware of your fingers and your toes.
Maybe just move them very gently.
Take a nice,
Slow,
Gentle breath in.
And a long exhale.
When you're ready,
You can gently open your eyes.
And thank you for joining me on this meditation.
