Evening Reflection

Let's take a few moments at the end of our day to slow down, reflect on everything we've done and who we are right now, in this present moment. Not pushing anything away but noticing our bodies, our breath and our mind activity with compassion and kindness, as we ease into our evening and sleep time.

Transcript

Hi,

It's evening time here,

Almost bedtime,

And I thought I would just do an evening meditation mostly for myself and whoever is out there listening,

Just as a way to wind down the day,

Looking back over the entirety of the day.

I would have had no idea at the beginning of the day,

All the things that transpired.

So I thought I would just do an evening meditation,

Mostly for myself and whoever is out there listening.

Some I knew,

A lot of things just popped up.

And really,

At the end of the day,

It is quite tiring to look back over the day.

It's gratifying,

Also tiring.

And I just thought we could have a moment here to reflect on the day.

Notice what parts of your day you really enjoyed,

What parts were intentional,

What parts were exhausting and kind of drained your battery.

And just giving ourselves a bit of compassion and gratitude that we were even able to participate in this day at all.

So let's just slow down for a few minutes here.

I'll ring the gong.

We'll just have a few minutes to kind of breathe and wind down for the evening.

So allowing the gong to be our invitation,

Invitation to slow down,

To feel your body,

To notice your mind activity,

Feel your heartbeat.

And just get a sense of your good human being in the room,

Whatever room you're in.

Notice the space,

Yourself in that space,

The temperature in the room.

Notice how your body is feeling after everything you've done today.

And allow for all of it.

A little aches and pains,

Maybe some restlessness or twitchiness,

Digestion.

And notice what parts are working.

Please give that to yourself.

If you were able to move,

Run,

Stretch,

Clean,

Hike.

Appreciating all the ways that your body serves you.

And then see before bed if there's anything else that your body's asking for.

Might you like to stretch a little bit or drink a glass of water.

Or maybe even dance.

If it doesn't get you too activated before sleep.

Maybe stand outside and look at the moon.

Take a couple deep breaths.

Just appreciating who you are,

Where you are,

And that you are.

And if we could just take a couple deep breaths.

Noticing the inhale and the pause at the top.

A longer exhale.

And a little pause at the bottom before you naturally inhale again.

Just see how that feels to really be in tune with these four parts of breath.

And if you find that your breath pattern is more shallow or you're congested,

Then so be it.

Let it be whatever it is.

You're still breathing.

You're still alive.

Heart is still beating.

So again,

We are just becoming friends with ourselves.

Noticing how this body works,

How this brain works.

Feeling that internal life force,

Regardless of how you feel.

That it's good,

Because you're here to experience it.

And then just notice maybe some of the themes of the day.

Some of the things you've thought about.

Maybe some people you've talked with.

Maybe you've accomplished some things.

Maybe you're perseverating on all the things you haven't accomplished.

But just see if you can kind of notice the mind stream.

And we're not trying to attach to any particular thought,

Even though you might get wrapped up in a thought or what you want to do tomorrow.

This is just a moment for noticing.

Especially notice anything you were anxious about.

And if that anxiety helped anything.

I guess sometimes it could put a little fire under us to get something done.

But probably not the aspect of anxiety,

Where you're just being twisted in knots.

Different from planning.

So just see if the anxiety served you at all.

It's just a noticing.

And can we give ourselves a few minutes to see other things that we might have noticed today?

I had so many wonderful conversations with clients today.

I'm so grateful.

I just love the people I get to interact with.

The people I get to interact with on a daily basis.

Their insights and their humor.

Some people I haven't seen for years,

And I get to see again and see all the changes that have been made.

And I get to experience myself differently.

Who am I now in their presence?

If you talk to any friends today,

Or loved ones,

How was that?

Notice those people who you get to interact with,

Who really take the time to hear you.

Ask you questions.

Follow up on something you told them about weeks ago.

You might have not thought they were paying attention,

But they were.

Can you let that moment seep into you,

That gratitude?

When you resonate with other people.

Or experience a moment of presence,

Love.

And then did you have any moments like that with yourself?

Were there moments where you gave yourself some grace?

Maybe you laughed at yourself for some mistake.

Maybe you were tickled that you learned a lesson,

A little light bulb moment.

Can you notice your own good heart at how much you care about other people,

And you don't want to see them suffer?

You don't want them to be in pain.

And you do everything in your power to avoid them feeling that.

And yet,

Dear soul,

Each person's journey is their own.

And we can't really do it for another person.

Of course,

We can be compassionate.

We can slow down.

We can give them space.

We can give them kindness.

We can listen well.

We can offer our clearest understanding of where we are.

But we cannot travel their path for them.

I promise it's enough to do it for ourselves.

So we can hold these people that we love,

That we want to help,

That we wish we could fix in some way.

Those who we wish we could alleviate their suffering,

Or give them insight,

Or help them care about themselves more than they do.

Can we just notice our good hearts and what we want to offer?

And the space we might create for other people.

And then can we bring some of that love and attention back into ourselves?

Just noticing where you offer that same type of acceptance,

Love,

And grace for yourself.

Appreciating the moments that you take for self-care.

To be in touch with nature.

To spend time with people who mean a lot to you.

To laugh.

To dance.

To read books that are interesting to you.

To try new things.

To slow down and really notice and appreciate who you are.

And what you bring to the table.

And then focusing back on a couple more deep breaths.

Just allowing your body to relax.

Slow down.

Notice how it has felt to take these few moments.

To pay attention to your body and what it's telling you.

To feel the full cycles of your breathing and how that feels in and out of your body.

That life force.

And then to have this objective awareness about what you've been thinking about all day.

And which of those thoughts have been helpful and sustaining and enriching.

And which of those thoughts have maybe had you spinning.

And not really gotten you anywhere.

Just noticing with kindness.

And then bringing it all back to gratitude.

Just appreciative of who we are.

How we are.

What we've come to at this point in our lives.

The ability to even sit here quietly and do a meditation as we wind down the day.

So many people don't do this.

They don't take the time to do this.

So thank you dear soul for taking a moment to be with yourself.

Notice your breathing and appreciating who you are.

And letting me be a part of it.

I'm forever grateful.

And it has a ripple effect.

You will show up differently tomorrow having attended to yourself this way.

So let's just do one more nice deep breath.

Just let all that go.

Kind of shake out the day.

Stretch your body if you need to.

Give yourself a big hug.

And may you rest so well tonight.

And have sweet dreams.

Thank you.

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