The wilderness of my discomfort is vast,
Thick with unknowing of what lies ahead of me,
Armed with tools like defensiveness and doubt.
I don't have to go in.
But I know that by staying at its edge,
I will only continue to get what has always been.
Sane begets sane,
While discomfort begets growth.
I want to grow.
I am here to expand beyond the boundaries of my knowing,
To taste the sweet nectar of new joy,
New love,
New hope,
New understanding.
Therefore,
I must step into the embrace of my discomfort,
Armed only with my breath and my trust.
And as I step in,
One breath past the edge,
And then another,
And another,
I realize,
This is not a wilderness to fear,
But to explore.
My soul unbinds itself and freely dances among the trees and the plants and the wild beasts raging.
Little by little,
I make my home in its untamed landscape,
And make friends with the uncertainty of it all.
For I realize that it is only here,
In this wilderness,
Where life can truly begin to be lived,
At least the way I want it for myself.
Close your eyes,
And tune into your breath.
Notice your heart beating wildly in your chest.
This sensation in your body.
In this moment,
Feel how completely and totally alive you are.
Feel the pulse moving beneath the layers of your skin.
Feel the rhythm of all of your systems working together.
And as you go a little deeper,
Feel into what feels uncomfortable for you.
Let there be a curiosity so that you may step past your own knowing,
So that you may taste the sweet nectar of new joy,
New love,
New hope,
And a new understanding of yourself and this life that you are living.
Take your hands now and place them over your belly.
Soften it into your hands.
Feel this primal space let go.
Release any tension.
Take your hands now and place them on your face,
As if you are holding your face up to the light,
Holding your face with a touch of a mother's love.
Let the muscles of your face relax and soften.
Now bring your hands and place them over the center of your heart.
This wild heart that is sometimes so untamed that we don't know quite what to make of it.
So we look outside it to tame it,
To answer it,
To free it.
But what if at this moment the wildness of your own heart's wilderness is what's calling you in?
Be here now.
Allow yourself the grace of your own understanding by being brave enough.
Take a deep breath in and a deep breath out.
Go a little further into that space of discomfort.
Take another deep breath in and a deep breath out.
Going in a little further still.
Take a little more full breath in and out.
Gently release your hands to your lap.
In the remainder of this meditation,
Allow yourself to explore this wonderful wild wilderness of your own discomfort with love,
With grace,
And with your own understanding.
Take a deep breath in and a deep breath out.
Take a deep breath out.
Take a deep breath in and a deep breath out.
Take a deep breath out.
Take a deep breath in and a deep breath out.
Take a deep breath out.
