Hello and welcome to a meditation centered around change and wanting.
To begin,
You can find a comfortable seat.
Whether you be in a chair,
Seated with your back against the wall,
Or maybe even lying down,
Allow yourself to find a position that is comfortable and where the body will not distract the mind.
As you settle in,
Allow yourself to close the eyes and draw your awareness to your breath.
Take a moment to simply notice the breath as it is,
The pace,
The depth,
The quality.
And then on your next inhale,
Consciously draw the breath deeply in,
Expanding all the way down to the diaphragm,
Through the lungs,
And filling up even through the throat.
You can part your lips and exhale through the mouth,
Drawing the navel in to press all of that stale breath out.
And then begin the cycle again,
Taking two more cycles of this intentional,
Deep,
Cleansing breath.
After a couple cycles of that breathing,
You can allow the breath to return to a more natural inhale and exhale.
So often in this life,
We find ourselves wanting,
Wanting something new,
Something different,
Something potentially old that we did once have or that others around us have.
But anytime we find ourselves in this place of wanting,
It's a good indicator that we're simply not being present with what actually is.
It's in the space of reality,
In engaging with what truly exists,
That we have agency,
That we have the ability to act with power.
And so as we find ourselves wanting,
It's a good indicator to pull ourselves back into the present moment.
Often times,
This wanting becomes particularly prevalent during moments of change.
We have what we identify as normal,
And then something shifts,
And suddenly we're thrown into this oscillating moment of adjustment.
And eventually,
We establish new routines,
We make changes,
We adjust,
And we find a new sort of normal.
But invariably,
Something else will shift.
And again,
That sense of normalcy is thrown out the window,
And we are left in flux,
Again,
Needing to adjust.
And the cycle repeats itself over and over and over again.
Sometimes on a global level,
Sometimes on an individual level.
But always,
As we find ourselves wanting,
Particularly in those moments of flux,
Of change,
We can ask ourselves,
What is it that I want?
Why do I want this?
And what does it feel like to not want?
What does it feel like to not want?
As you sit with this question for a moment,
I encourage you to scan through the body.
Notice physically what it feels like to not want,
To stop striving,
To stop grasping,
Reaching,
To remain present.
What does it feel like to accept what is?
What does it feel like to embrace whatever your life looks like in this exact moment as it is?
A famous Pema Chodron quote from her book,
Living Beautifully,
Reads,
The truth is that we are always in some kind of in-between state,
Always in process.
We never fully arrive.
We are always in some kind of in-between state,
Always in process.
We never fully arrive.
That cycle of steadiness and fluctuation,
Steadiness and fluctuation,
Is inevitable.
Change is inevitable.
We are always in process.
We never fully arrive.
Give yourself a moment here to sit with that.
To accept that reality and to notice how it feels in your body,
In your mind,
And in your energetic system.
To simply accept that small truth of knowing that you are always in process,
That there is no finish line,
That you will never fully arrive.
Things will continue to shift.
What does it feel like to accept that?
In these last few moments,
I invite you to draw your attention particularly to the exhale.
Feel the ease of it,
The effortlessness of that release of breath.
And know that that feeling is something that is always there for you to fully embody as soon as you release wanting,
As soon as you release grasping,
You find ease.
And in becoming present,
Consequently,
You also find your power.
You can begin to crack the eyes gently open,
Allowing in just a little bit of light.
And maybe giving yourself a couple of breaths here before eventually opening the eyes fully and making your way back into your day.
