Hey there,
Traveller.
You look tired.
Come and join me by my campfire,
And you can wind down from your day.
First things first,
Let me make you a hot chocolate.
Hold on a sec.
There you go.
Long day,
Hey?
Yeah,
Me too.
We're busy souls,
Aren't we?
But when the shroud of darkness comes,
And the campfires burn bright,
That's our sign to slow down and stop.
So my friend,
You're very welcome to stop here for the night.
And don't worry about the cold,
Or any unwelcome visitors.
I'll keep the fire going,
As long as we need it.
I think we might have a bit of rain tonight,
But it's a nice warm evening,
And I've built a nice canopy for us.
So we'll stay nice and warm and dry,
And there's nothing like a bit of rain to help sleep to find us.
So where do we begin after a long day?
Oh,
You seem a bit troubled.
Is there something on your mind?
That's a silly question,
Really.
Of course there is.
It always happens.
As soon as we settle in for the night,
And our head hits the pillow,
All those things that have happened in the day come back to greet us.
And not always with a smile.
Hmm.
I think we have a bit of work to do here,
But not too much.
Hang on a sec.
I'll just throw another log on the fire.
Yep,
The night can bring up our anxieties and our worries,
And we can feel like our life is a bit of a tangled mess at times.
And as soon as one piece of the jigsaw puzzle finally slots into place,
Another piece goes missing.
And if life is a big puzzle,
Then surely completing it just means the end.
That just makes our life one big waiting game.
I don't know about you,
But I don't like the sound of that.
I think we can do better.
This fire tells me so.
Just listen for a moment.
Ah yes,
Our campfire tells the truth.
If you listen carefully to all those crackles and pops,
I think what our campfire is trying to say is that everything that we need is right here,
And right now is just as it should be.
And the ups and downs that come along with our life can just be seen as part of the adventure.
In addition,
What the fire seems to be saying is that we should trust in life a little bit more,
And pay less attention to what our thoughts are saying.
So with that in mind,
If there is something troubling you right now,
That's holding you from the door of sleep,
Firstly let it be known that you are not alone.
Without doubt,
Many a traveller has experienced woes from time to time,
Maybe in different form,
And to a lesser or greater degree,
But we humans aren't so different.
And secondly,
With anything that troubles you right now,
Whether it be a thought,
An emotion,
Something you're feeling in your body right now,
If you want to,
You can hand it over to the night,
And the night can take care of it for you.
Or you can place it down by these glowing embers,
And then see the lay of the land in the morning,
And trusting that whatever it is that troubles you will find its way.
The truth is,
We never really know how things are going to turn out.
So my traveller friend,
Let those thoughts be.
They might want to stay around as you fall asleep,
But there's nothing for you to do right now.
You can rest your weary head and your tired body,
And allow it to sink a little bit deeper into the ground.
And the Taoist way is to say,
Do your work,
Then let go,
And your work is done for today.
All that's left is to let go,
Allow your whole body to soften,
And when your body and mind are ready,
You can drift off into a deep,
Deep sleep.
I'll keep this campfire warm,
All you need to do is simply listen to the crackle of the fire,
The sounds of the night,
Nothing else to do.
Softening to all that comes your way,
For tonight there is magic in the air,
And everything is unknown,
And everything is possible.
And the night holds our solace,
Our time for healing,
Our time to recover,
To find our ground,
To find our strength and our courage,
And to be with our vulnerability too.
And letting your body sink a little bit deeper into your bed,
Dropping down,
Down,
Letting go,
Allowing yourself to fall into a deep,
Deep sleep.
And if sleep doesn't come easy tonight,
That's okay,
I'll just keep this fire going for you.
Sweet dreams.
