Take a moment,
Sit up straight,
Hands lowered at your lap.
The invitation is to close your eyes,
But you're also welcome to leave your eyes in a soft gaze,
Looking at the floor in front of you.
Do whatever feels comfortable for you.
Now take a moment just to settle in.
If you need to shift at all to get more comfortable,
Do that now.
Notice where your body touches the chair.
Feel your feet on the floor.
Bring your awareness to the sounds in the room.
Maybe you hear the ticking of a clock,
Or one of your pets,
Or maybe just the sound of your breath.
Now take a moment and tune into the sounds outside of the room you're in.
Maybe some sounds are near,
Some are far.
Perhaps you hear a lawnmower,
A bird,
Or something else.
Just see what comes up in your awareness,
Just focusing on the sounds.
If you're not hearing any sounds,
Just keep that awareness open,
Knowing that that could shift,
That other sounds may come forward,
Allowing the sounds to come to you without forcing it.
Check in with your mind,
Seeing if you're getting distracted,
Maybe with a story,
Thinking about plans for the evening,
Or something else that happened today.
Notice,
And then gently,
With kindness towards yourself,
Redirect your mind back to the sounds.
Also notice if your mind is judging,
I don't like this sound,
Or I love this sound.
See if you can allow yourself to continue hearing the sound,
Regardless of whether you like it or don't like it.
Bring awareness to the silence between the sounds.
Just listen to whatever is coming to you in the form of sound.
How is your body feeling?
Just paying attention to the sounds around you.
Check in with your emotion.
What is there?
And in these last few moments of this meditation,
See if you can allow yourself to rest and nourish yourself by just being here,
Present to whatever is unfolding,
Accepting yourself exactly as you are,
Accepting everyone around you,
Even those difficult people in your life exactly as they are.
Extending with your thoughts,
Kindness and compassion.
Feel that kindness and compassionate energy filling you up from your head all the way down to your toes,
Filling you to every cell,
Every fiber of your being with that kindness and compassion,
Bringing that to yourself.
And when you're ready,
Bring your attention back to the room,
Blinking your eyes open if they're closed.
Allow your body to move in any way that feels right.
Maybe a big stretch overhead.
Maybe you want to stand up.
Maybe a side stretch.
Do what feels good for you.
Take a slow breath in through the nose and then exhale through the nose.
Extend the exhale longer than the inhale.
One more time.
Inhale and then exhale.
And feel that new energy into your body.
Take this with you the rest of the day.
