Tonight.
We are going to talk about this habit of comparing yourself to others.
Especially at night.
You may know what I am talking about.
The day is over.
You are finally in bed.
And instead of falling asleep.
You pick up your phone and start scrolling.
Some people's vacations.
Other people's success.
The house.
The relationship.
The body.
The life that looks so simple and so full for everyone else.
Except for you.
And without choosing to.
Your mind starts measuring where you are.
Where you should be.
And everything you still lack.
You lie down feeling a little heavier than you were.
Here is what is happening.
Quite simply.
What others show.
Is their finest shop window.
A few selected moments.
Never the backstage,
Nor the ordinary days.
You,
On the other hand.
Know your whole life from the inside.
With its doubts and its grey days.
So the comparison is skewed from the start.
You are putting your inside in front of their outside.
This is not a weakness on your part.
It is a trap that everyone falls into.
But.
.
.
In the long run.
It wears you down and steals the peace of the evening.
It does not affect everyone in the same way.
And maybe not you tonight.
If none of this speaks to you.
Keep what is useful,
And leave the rest.
I am not going to ask you to force yourself to love your life.
I am simply going to invite you to turn off.
For a moment.
The noise of other people's lives.
To come back very close to your own.
And feel everything it already holds.
And if you fall asleep during the practice.
Do not worry.
It is completely natural.
Your unconscious listens even while you sleep and continues to reprogram itself.
Settle into your bed.
The meditation will begin soon.
To begin even before you close your eyes.
Choose a point in front of you.
Straight ahead.
In the dim light of the room.
A small mark on the ceiling.
The edge of a piece of furniture.
A reflection.
Anything at all.
Rest your gaze on it.
And keep it there.
Without effort.
Fix this point and.
.
.
As you look at it.
Let everything else around it become a bit blurry and a bit distant.
Your eyelids gradually grow heavier.
They blink more often.
And it becomes more and more pleasant to let them fall.
So when they are ready.
Let them close completely.
And feel the restfulness of having nothing left to fix your eyes on.
Neither there nor on a screen.
Now feel the weight of your back.
Broadly resting on the bed.
From the top of your shoulders.
Down to the small of your back.
This is your point of support for the whole night.
And it is holding you.
From there.
A pleasant heaviness is going to spread through your whole body.
It moves down.
First into your hips.
Which open and settle.
Then into your thighs.
Wide and warm.
Your knees.
Which loosen.
Your calves.
Which relax.
Your ankles.
Which unbind.
All the way to your feet.
And your toes.
Which let go.
One by one.
With each inhale,
This heaviness becomes softer.
With each exhale,
Your body sinks a little deeper.
It then moves back up into your belly.
Which are not.
And your chest.
Which widens with each breath.
It reaches your shoulders.
Which drop one notch.
Than another.
And flows down along your arms to your hands.
Where your fingers part slightly on their own.
It rises into your neck.
Which lets itself be supported.
And into your face.
Your jaw loosens.
Your cheeks soften.
The area around your eyes relaxes.
That area tired from looking at so many screens.
And your forehead broadens.
All the way back behind your ears.
With each inhale,
Your body lengthens just a little.
With each exhale it sinks a little deeper.
Now feel your whole body.
In one single piece.
It settles on the bed.
In one single block.
Back has led.
The shoulders have let go.
The face has let go.
Nothing in you is standing guard anymore.
And everything is completely relaxed.
With nothing left to compare?
Or to measure.
And in this relaxation.
Allow your unconscious mind to open.
You give it permission.
And it opens.
Quietly like a clearing that appears when you push aside the last branches and discover the open space in the middle of the trees.
And now.
On your inner screen.
Imagine a clearing in the middle of a forest.
On a soft.
Mild late summer night.
Lit only by the glow of a small fire and by the stars.
So many of them.
Above the trees.
You arrive in this clearing walking and you feel.
Under your feet.
The cool grass and the moss that softens your steps.
While the air smells of earth.
Fern.
And wood that is gently burning somewhere.
But immediately.
Even before you sit down.
You notice something else.
Between the trunks.
All around the clearing.
In the distance.
Through the trees.
Dozens of small lights that shine and twinkle with.
Carried by the wind.
Laughter.
Voices and scraps of music.
These are other people's lives.
All those lives that look so bright.
So full seen from here.
In the dark.
From far away.
And you can clearly feel what this stirs in you.
That familiar little tension.
That desire to move closer to see better.
To compare your quiet clearing with all those lit up windows.
You stay there for a while.
Drawn towards those distant lights.
Like every evening.
Then you lower your eyes.
And you see.
Right in front of you a small fire.
A modest fire.
Which belongs only to you.
With a few bright red embers.
A quiet flame.
It has been there from the start.
And it was waiting for you.
Come closer.
And sit down beside it.
In the grass.
At just the right distance to feel its warmth on your face?
And on your hands.
Stretch your hands towards it.
Feel this warmth.
Real.
Close.
Warming your skin for good.
While the light's over there.
Between the trees have never warmed you.
That is the difference.
Your life.
You can touch it.
Feel it.
And warm yourself by it.
The others.
You were only ever watching them from afar.
And you realize that you are holding something in your hand.
A handful of little shards of glass.
Hard and sharp.
Each one reflecting the image of a life that is not your own.
This is what you use to measure yourself every night.
Look at them one last time without anger.
Then one by one.
Let them fall into the fire.
As they touch the embers they no longer cut.
They melt gently.
And become a little more warmth.
A softer light.
Take your time.
Let them all go.
Until your hand is free and warm.
And as your fire grows higher.
Something changes all around you.
The distant lights between the trees.
Begin to fade one by one.
Very softly.
They do not disappear.
They are fine.
They continue their life over there.
But you no longer need to look at them.
So they go out for you.
Like night lights you no longer have to watch over.
The murmur of voices recedes.
Becomes very small.
Then fall silent.
And soon there remains only the gentle crackling of your fire and the mild silence of the clearings.
Look at what your fire lights up close to you.
These are the things of your own life.
The ones that are never shown on a screen.
A face that loves you.
A small habit that does you good.
Something you have gone through and come out of.
Still standing.
Seen in this light.
From so close.
They are full.
They are real.
And they are more than enough.
Your clearing was already beautiful.
It was only waiting for you to rekindle the right fire.
And to look in the right direction.
Stay there.
In the warmth.
And feel how your chest opens.
How the heaviness of the evening lifts.
You are exactly where you are.
And it is a very real place.
Truly your own.
And it feels good.
Let this image go.
Let the visualization drift away.
Around you the clearing remains.
Mild and quiet.
Lit by your fire,
Which keeps watch in a low voice.
And by the stars.
So many of them.
Placed above the trees like a dusting of calm light.
The forest all around is breathing slowly.
And every sound it makes is a sound of everything being well.
A branch that cracks.
The light wind in the leaves.
A night bird.
Very far away.
Keeping peaceful watch.
The embers in front of you keep their gentle,
Steady warmth.
And they light up just what is needed.
Just what belongs to you.
Over there,
Between the trees?
Everything is calm now.
And that leaves you in peace.
From time to time a spark rises from the fire and joins the stars.
High above.
And it becomes hard to say where your little fire ends and where the sky begins.
The warmth wraps you from your feet to your face.
Even and faithful.
And the soft smell of wood as it burns.
Lingers around you like a friendly presence.
You feel good here.
Exactly in your place.
In your own life.
And everything you need is already here.
Around this fire.
The cool grass beneath your back keeps the shape of your body and supports you.
The warmth of the fire rests on your face like a gentle hand.
And each breath.
Sinks you a little deeper into the moss.
And into rest.
And as you drift towards sleep.
Something in you carries on by itself.
Gathering this warmth.
This peace of finally being at home.
In your own life.
And turning it in the secrecy of the night.
Into a sweetness.
That will still be there in the morning.
And now.
If you are not yet asleep.
Please repeat the following positive affirmations.
Until you fall asleep.
Your unconscious will then take over.
My life belongs to me.
And it is enough for me.
I come back to myself.
Far from the noise of others.
I look at my own life with tenderness.
What I experience has value.
In my own way.
I choose my own pace.
And it is the right one for me.
I rejoice in what I have here and now.
My path is unique and I love it.
I set my gaze on what nourishes me.
I am at peace with where I am.
My light shines quietly.
Alongside that of others.
I celebrate my own steps.
Even the smallest ones.
I compare myself only to the one I was yesterday.
My happiness grows when I look closely at my life.
I let others live their own.
And peace.
I acknowledge everything I have already built.
My value comes from within.
Calm and sure.
I choose gratitude rather than comparison.
I feel rich from what is already here.
My kind gaze rests first on myself.
My life belongs to me.
And it is enough for me.
I come back to myself.
Far from the noise of others.
I look at my own life with tenderness.
What I experience has value.
In my own way.
I choose my own pace.
And it is the right one for me.
I rejoice in what I have here and now.
My path is unique and I love it.
I set my gaze on what nourishes me.
I am at peace with where I am.
My light shines quietly.
Alongside that of others.
I celebrate my own steps.
Even the smallest ones.
I compare myself only to the one I was yesterday.
My happiness grows when I look closely at my life.
I let others live their own.
And peace.
I acknowledge everything I have already built.
My value comes from within.
Calm and sure.
I choose gratitude rather than comparison.
I feel rich from what is already here.
My kind gaze rests first on myself.
My life belongs to me.
And it is enough for me.
I come back to myself.
Far from the noise of others.
I look at my own life with tenderness.
What I experience has value.
In my own way.
I choose my own pace.
And it is the right one for me.
I rejoice in what I have here and now.
My path is unique and I love it.
I set my gaze on what nourishes me.
I am at peace with where I am.
My light shines quietly.
Alongside that of others.
I celebrate my own steps.
Even the smallest ones.
I compare myself only to the one I was yesterday.
My happiness grows when I look closely at my life.
I let others live their own.
And peace.
I acknowledge everything I have already built.
My value comes from within.
Calm and sure.
I choose gratitude rather than comparison.
I feel rich from what is already here.
My kind gaze rests first on myself.
My life belongs to me.
And it is enough for me.
I come back to myself.
Far from the noise of others.
I look at my own life with tenderness.
What I experience has value.
In my own way.
I choose my own pace.
And it is the right one for me.
I rejoice in what I have here and now.
My path is unique and I love it.
I set my gaze on what nourishes me.
I am at peace with where I am.
My light shines quietly.
Alongside that of others.
I celebrate my own steps.
Even the smallest ones.
I compare myself only to the one I was yesterday.
My happiness grows when I look closely at my life.
I let others live their own.
And peace.
I acknowledge everything I have already built.
My value comes from within.
Calm and sure.
I choose gratitude rather than comparison.
I feel rich from what is already here.
My kind gaze rests first on myself.
My life belongs to me.
And it is enough for me.
I come back to myself.
Far from the noise of others.
I look at my own life with tenderness.
What I experience has value.
In my own way.
I choose my own pace.
And it is the right one for me.
I rejoice in what I have here and now.
My path is unique and I love it.
I set my gaze on what nourishes me.
I am at peace with where I am.
My light shines quietly.
Alongside that of others.
I celebrate my own steps.
Even the smallest ones.
I compare myself only to the one I was yesterday.
My happiness grows when I look closely at my life.
I let others live their own.
And peace.
I acknowledge everything I have already built.
My value comes from within.
Calm and sure.
I choose gratitude rather than comparison.
I feel rich from what is already here.
My kind gaze rests first on myself.
My life belongs to me.
And it is enough for me.
I come back to myself.
Far from the noise of others.
I look at my own life with tenderness.
What I experience has value.
In my own way.
I choose my own pace.
And it is the right one for me.
I rejoice in what I have here and now.
My path is unique and I love it.
I set my gaze on what nourishes me.
I am at peace with where I am.
My light shines quietly.
Alongside that of others.
I celebrate my own steps.
Even the smallest ones.
I compare myself only to the one I was yesterday.
My happiness grows when I look closely at my life.
I let others live their own.
And peace.
I acknowledge everything I have already built.
My value comes from within.
Calm and sure.
I choose gratitude rather than comparison.
I feel rich from what is already here.
My kind gaze rests first on myself.
My life belongs to me.
And it is enough for me.
I come back to myself.
Far from the noise of others.
I look at my own life with tenderness.
What I experience has value.
In my own way.
I choose my own pace.
And it is the right one for me.
I rejoice in what I have here and now.
My path is unique and I love it.
I set my gaze on what nourishes me.
I am at peace with where I am.
My light shines quietly.
Alongside that of others.
I celebrate my own steps.
Even the smallest ones.
I compare myself only to the one I was yesterday.
My happiness grows when I look closely at my life.
I let others live their own.
And peace.
I acknowledge everything I have already built.
My value comes from within.
Calm and sure.
I choose gratitude rather than comparison.
I feel rich from what is already here.
My kind gaze rests first on myself.
My life belongs to me.
And it is enough for me.
I come back to myself.
Far from the noise of others.
I look at my own life with tenderness.
What I experience has value.
In my own way.
I choose my own pace.
And it is the right one for me.
I rejoice in what I have here and now.
My path is unique and I love it.
I set my gaze on what nourishes me.
I am at peace with where I am.
My light shines quietly.
Alongside that of others.
I celebrate my own steps.
Even the smallest ones.
I compare myself only to the one I was yesterday.
My happiness grows when I look closely at my life.
I let others live their own.
And peace.
I acknowledge everything I have already built.
My value comes from within.
Calm and sure.
I choose gratitude rather than comparison.
I feel rich from what is already here.
My kind gaze rests first on myself.
My life belongs to me.
And it is enough for me.
I come back to myself.
Far from the noise of others.
I look at my own life with tenderness.
What I experience has value.
In my own way.
I choose my own pace.
And it is the right one for me.
I rejoice in what I have here and now.
My path is unique and I love it.
I set my gaze on what nourishes me.
I am at peace with where I am.
My light shines quietly.
Alongside that of others.
I celebrate my own steps.
Even the smallest ones.
I compare myself only to the one I was yesterday.
My happiness grows when I look closely at my life.
I let others live their own.
And peace.
I acknowledge everything I have already built.
My value comes from within.
Calm and sure.
I choose gratitude rather than comparison.
I feel rich from what is already here.
My kind gaze rests first on myself.
