Hello Wayfarer and welcome back to the path.
I'm so glad you chose to return to this quiet corner of yourself.
Today you may feel as though you're carrying a hidden weight,
A subtle tension that has become so familiar you almost forget it's there.
Many of us who move through the world with a shield held high,
A protective layer of doing and bracing that we wear to keep the chaos at bay.
But even the strongest traveler gets wary of carrying such armor.
It is okay to be wary of the fight.
It is okay to admit that the shield has become heavy with the burdens and expectations of the world.
Today we aren't going to tear the armor off.
We are simply going to invite it to soften.
I invite you now to find your seat or your place of rest.
Let your eyes close or simply find a soft and moving point in front of you.
Take a breath that feels like a long-awaited homecoming.
Deep into the belly and then a slow audible exhale.
I invite you to notice the places where you're still holding.
The jaw,
The space between the brows,
The grip in the palms.
These are the hinges of your shield.
Just for now can we give them permission to rest?
Feel the weight of your shoulders dropping just a fraction of an inch.
Imagine there's a warm light resting on the crown of your head,
Slowly beginning to pour down over your skin.
As it moves it brings a gentle thawing to everything it touches.
Can you allow the ground to take a little more of your weight?
You don't need to hold yourself up so rigidly now.
The earth is wide enough and strong enough to carry all of you.
Your armor is not made of steel but of ice.
It has kept you safe but it has also kept you cold and rigid.
As you sit here the sun of your own awareness is rising.
Feel the heat of it touching the places where you feel most guarded.
Watch as the hard edges of your shoulds and musts begin dissolving.
See the ice turning into water,
Running off your shoulders and back into the earth.
Feel the uncurling of your spirit as it realizes it no longer has to brace for impact.
There is a vastness that opens up when you stop protecting ourselves from the very life we are trying to live.
We will sit in this pace of softening for a few minutes.
Let the silence be the warmth that melts the final layers.
If you feel the urge to clench again simply notice it with kindness and invite it to soften once more.
Gently begin to bring some movement back to the fingers and toes.
You are stronger in your softness than you ever were in your bracing Wayfarer.
I'll meet you here tomorrow as we look into the mirror of the heart.
Thank you for joining me today brave one.
Until we meet again,
Stay close to your heart.
