Hello my dear friend.
Sometimes we reach a point in the day where we realize we are everywhere except here.
A little of our attention is caught in a conversation from earlier.
Some of it has already wandered into tomorrow.
Some is with the people we love.
Some is tangled amongst all the things still waiting to be done.
And somewhere amongst it all,
We've wandered away from ourselves.
So this isn't about clearing your mind or fixing how you feel.
It's simply a few minutes to gather yourself home.
Feel your feet against the earth beneath you.
Or the weight of your body,
Where you were sitting or lying.
Take a comfortable breath in.
And let it leave slowly.
Again,
Breathing in.
And breathing out.
Imagine your attention like fine threads stretching out from you,
Some nearby,
Some reaching much further than you realised.
A thread leading back to something that happened earlier.
You don't need to follow it.
Gather it back.
A thread reaching towards something that hasn't happened yet.
Tomorrow doesn't need you yet.
Gather it back.
And the threads wrapped around other people,
Their needs,
Their feelings,
Their expectations.
You don't need to stop caring.
Just let yourself come home for a moment.
One by one,
Gather those threads back towards you.
Back into your body.
Back into your breath.
Back into the ground beneath you.
Until you can feel yourself here again.
Notice your feet.
Your legs.
Belly.
Chest.
Your hands.
Your face.
Here you are.
You haven't disappeared.
You've simply been giving pieces of your attention to the world around you.
And now.
You are returning.
You can care without carrying everything.
You can love without holding everything.
And you can return to yourself without abandoning anyone else.
Take another comfortable breath.
And ask yourself quietly.
What would help me return to myself now.
Don't search too hard for an answer.
Notice what comes.
Maybe you need a few minutes outside.
A glass of water,
Something to eat.
Quiet.
Movement.
To make something.
To do absolutely nothing for a little while.
Or maybe this,
These few minutes of coming back.
Has been enough.
Feel the ground beneath you once more.
Notice the sounds around you.
The air against your skin.
Your breath moving through your body.
And when you are ready to continue with your day,
Take yourself with you.
You don't need to leave yourself behind in order to meet the world.
