Hello and welcome.
I am so glad you've chosen to be here right now,
Prioritizing your rest.
Take a moment to just arrive.
You don't need to do anything special.
You don't need to be good at meditation.
You just need to be here.
Adjust your pillows.
Pull the blanket up to your chin.
Wiggle your toes and let your feet fall open.
Let your hands rest wherever they feel most natural.
Maybe on your belly or by your sides.
If your mind is busy right now,
If thoughts are racing around like cars on a highway,
That is okay.
We aren't going to fight your thoughts tonight.
We aren't going to try to force them to stop.
We are just going to step off the highway.
We are going to sit on the grass nearby and watch the traffic go by without getting in the car.
You are safe here.
The day is done.
There is nothing left to manage.
There is nothing left to fix.
Right now,
Your only job is to be easy and soft.
Let's send that signal to your body that it's safe to power down.
We're going to use a simple rhythm called 4-7-8 breath.
This acts like a remote control for your nervous system,
Turning the volume down on stress.
I'll guide you.
We'll inhale through your nose for a count of four.
Hold that breath gently for seven and then exhale slowly out of the mouth,
Making a soft whoosh sound for eight.
Let's try it together.
Empty all the air from your lungs.
Let it all go.
Now,
Inhale through your nose.
Two,
Three,
Four.
Hold it gently.
Two,
Three,
Four,
Five,
Six,
Seven and exhale out through the mouth.
Whoosh.
Two,
Three,
Four,
Five,
Six,
Seven.
Eight.
Beautiful.
Let's do that again.
Inhale deeply.
Two,
Three,
Four.
Hold,
Feeling that stillness.
Four,
Five,
Six,
Seven and release long and slow.
Three,
Four,
Five,
Six,
Seven,
Eight.
Repeat that same 4-7-8 for three more times at your own pace.
Inhale calm.
Hold the peace.
Exhale the tension.
One more time.
Inhale calm.
Hold the peace.
Exhale the tension.
One more time.
Inhale calm.
Hold the peace.
Exhale the tension.
Now just let your breath return to its natural rhythm.
You don't need to count anymore.
Just notice how your body feels.
The breath is no longer something you are doing.
It is something that is simply happening to you.
A gentle rise and a gentle fall.
As your body settles into this rhythm,
Let's gently turn our attention to the heart.
Often,
The day leaves us with a sense of incompleteness.
A feeling that we should have done more.
Let's soften that feeling now.
Visualize a warm golden light centered in your chest.
This light is kind.
It is patient.
It does not judge.
You can place a hand over your heart if you like and let these words drift through your mind like soft clouds.
May I forgive myself for what I did not do today.
The list of the things undone will always be there,
But tonight we put the list down.
May I forgive myself for what I did not do today.
May I accept that I did enough.
May I accept that I did enough.
Whatever you accomplished today,
Big or small,
It was enough.
You navigated a complex world.
You survived and even thrived.
That is enough.
May I offer myself the rest I deserve.
May I offer myself the rest I deserve.
Feel the warmth of those words spreading from your chest,
Out to your shoulders,
Down your arms,
Into your hands.
There is nothing you need to fix right now.
Nowhere you need to go.
Nothing that needs to be solved.
You are simply a human being,
Worthy of rest.
And now,
Leaving the thoughts of the day behind completely,
Let us drift into a story.
A simple tale about the beauty of things exactly as they are.
Once,
In a quiet village at the foot of a green mountain,
There lived an elderly water-bearer.
Every morning,
Before the sun had fully risen,
He would walk down the long path to the stream to fetch water.
He carried two large clay pots hung on the ends of a sturdy wooden pole,
Which he balanced across his shoulders.
One of the pots was perfect.
It was smooth,
Polished,
And always delivered a full portion of water.
The other pot was older.
It had a web of fine cracks running down its side.
And by the end of the long walk,
From the stream to the house,
It always arrived only half full.
For two years,
This went on daily.
The perfect pot was so proud of its accomplishments.
Perfect for the end of which it was made.
But the poor cracked pot was ashamed of its own imperfection,
And miserable that it could only do half of what it had been made to do.
One morning,
Down by the stream,
The cracked pot finally spoke to the water-bearer.
I am ashamed of myself,
It whispered.
This crack in my side,
It leaks water all over your path.
The water-bearer smiled gently.
He did not look angry.
He simply said,
Did you notice that there are flowers on your side of the path,
But not on the other pot's side?
He adjusted the pole on his shoulder and pointed back up the hill.
He went on to explain,
That's because I've always known about your flaw.
So I planted flower seeds on your side of the path.
Every day,
While we walk back from the stream,
You water them.
The water-bearer walked slowly up the path,
The morning sun just beginning to warm the earth.
For two years,
He continued softly.
For two years,
I have been able to pick these beautiful flowers to decorate the table.
Without you being just the way you are,
There would not be this beauty to grace the house.
The cracked pot looked down.
Indeed,
On its side of the path,
There was a riot of colour.
Wildflowers,
Blue,
Yellow and soft pink,
Were nodding gently in the breeze,
Drinking the water that dripped drop by drop from the crack.
It realised that the leak was not a failure,
It was a gift.
It was nourishing something beautiful that the perfect pot could not.
The water-bearer continued his walk,
The rhythm of his steps steadily increasing.
He walked slowly and slow,
The scent of the wildflowers drifted up,
Sweet and calming.
There was purpose in the imperfection,
There was peace in simply being.
The touch of the flowers fade away gently,
Leaving only the feeling of peace behind.
Like the pot,
You do not need to be perfect to be worthy of this rest.
You can just be.
Your breath is slow,
Your body is heavy,
Nourishing yourself with deep,
Quiet sleep.
Drifting,
Floating,
Resting.
Good night.
