Hello Wayfarer,
We have arrived at the midpoint of our walk together and I am so grateful we have kept the pace and stayed the course.
It takes a certain kind of courage to be still but it takes an even deeper bravery to truly look at ourselves.
Perhaps you have been your own harshest critic,
Seeing only the flaws,
The missed steps or the things you wish you could change.
We often walk through the world looking into mirrors that are cracked by expectations or dimmed by the opinions of others.
Today I want to invite you to look into a different kind of mirror,
One that is clear,
Ancient and entirely without judgment.
It is okay if you feel a little nervous to stand before your own truth,
We are going to do it together with a heart that is wide,
Open and soft.
I invite you to settle into your sanctuary now,
Let the spine grow tall like a tree reaching for the light.
While the rest of your body hangs loose and easy,
Take a deep clearing breath and as you exhale imagine you are wiping away the fog from a window.
Not with the eyes of a judge but with the eyes of a dear friend who has missed you terribly.
Notice the rhythm of your heart,
It has been beating for you since before you had a name.
It doesn't ask for a reward,
It simply loves you enough to keep going.
Can you drop your awareness down into that steady pulse,
Feel the loosening in your chest as you stop trying to be better and simply start being here.
I want you to imagine you are standing at the edge of a perfectly still mountain lake at dawn.
The water is so clear it looks like a sheet of glass.
As you lean over the edge you see your reflection,
But in this water you don't see your face,
You see your essence.
Behold the traveller in the water,
See the strength in those eyes,
The stories written in the lines of the face,
The resilience in the set of the shoulders.
As you look imagine a wave of compassion washing over that image.
See yourself as a child of the earth doing their best with the light they have.
Feel the dissolving of the need to be anything other than exactly who you are in this moment.
You will sit here at the water's edge for a little while,
Just you and your reflection.
Allow yourself to be seen by yourself.
If a self-critical thought arises it'll be like a pebble dropped in the lake.
Watch the ripples fade into the water's still and kind once more.
Feeling the life force returning to the surface.
You are a beautiful mystery,
Wayfarer,
And you are far more than the sum of your mistakes.
I'll meet you here tomorrow as we tend the garden of the mind.
Thank you for joining me today,
Brave one.
Until we meet again,
Stay close to your heart.
