Find your center by turning in,
Getting settled,
Letting everything go.
Inhale,
Exhale,
Welcome to a hit of hope.
You've all probably heard that humans are terrible witnesses.
If there's an accident or a crime,
The people who witness it all have different stories.
This happens because witnessing is all about perspective.
We each see the world in a way.
The world has never been seen before,
And we each see ourselves through our own perspectives.
Breathe in,
Breathe out.
This can be great to step fully into being our strange and wonderful self.
Well,
That's exactly what the world needs right now.
It takes courage and grit to live authentically with and from the heart,
The very center of our being.
Breathe in,
Breathe out.
And being fully in our self is where we can get so caught up,
So tangled.
That's why one way to meditate is to mentally step back instead of being the monkey mind swinging from branch to branch or thought to thought.
You can just witness the rambunctious monkey mind.
Watch what it does,
Not get wrapped up in it.
Many times this is enough.
All we need to do is notice the activity,
And then it begins to diminish and dissipate,
Leaving us with more spaciousness and groundedness.
Inhale,
Exhale.
I'd argue that sometimes we need a different kind of witness.
I don't know about your recess experiences growing up,
But in my school,
Scuffles abounded on the playground.
There was often pushing and shoving,
And before long,
A ring of other kids would gather to witness the event.
Yes,
The fight would probably end on its own with these other kids watching and doing nothing,
But sometimes damage was likely.
Breathe in,
Breathe out.
On my playground growing up,
We had a woman named Rita who fearlessly waded into the kerfuffles separating out the warring factions.
Calmly,
Bravely,
She entered the fray.
She pulled everything apart and then sat each child down and said,
Tell me your story.
She wanted to get to the root of the problem,
To deal with whatever needed naming.
When your mind gets to revving high and running fast,
Sit and witness.
Inhaling deeply,
Exhaling,
Letting everything go.
When your thoughts start tussling in a way that feels more damaging,
Witness and lean in.
Bravely ask,
Tell me your story.
What needs to be named?
Where does it hurt?
What's your perspective on what happened?
What might someone else's perspective be?
How can you show that self of yours some kindness and care?
Breathe in,
Breathe out.
When you make the decision to turn in,
Let your witnessing be full of compassion and wisdom.
Let the racing thoughts flow and get to the bottom of the tussles.
So whether it's a worry or a wound,
Witness kindly,
Witness bravely,
Listen to what needs naming,
Follow your breath,
And live light.
