Let's begin with the bell.
Just arriving.
Glad that you're taking a moment to meditate.
Kind to yourself.
Treating yourself with a smile,
A joy,
A generous awareness and respect.
Not everyone can and not everyone chooses to meditate.
Not everyone has the time or the wherewithal.
And for those that do,
Not everyone gives themselves the gift.
So be grateful to yourself and be grateful to the world that you have these moments.
Coming in.
You can close your eyes when you're ready.
Extending your breath in.
Deeper and deeper.
Exhaling slower and slower.
Touching in with your body.
What are you feeling?
What do you notice?
Comforts?
Discomforts?
Ease or agitation?
Things moving fast or slow?
Just slowing down.
Becoming more still,
More quiet and aware of the world outside and inside.
Maybe that's using your ears,
Maybe other senses.
Just to notice.
Kindly.
Giving yourself the benefit of the doubt that your words and actions and choices are made with good intent.
For the best possible reason with the information you have.
Deepening your breath all the way in,
Slowly out.
Maybe you notice your digestion or even your pulse.
Blood flowing through you.
Your body's function.
The space you fill.
Let's feel the sensation of being invited into a kind person's home.
Maybe you have a specific story in mind of someone offering you hospitality.
Maybe it's just the sensation of being in a kindly aunt's home where you feel safe or felt safe.
How do you feel when you smell something good on the stove?
Or the mist of tea in a loved one's home as they welcome you.
Fresh fruit on the table.
Cut guava.
Someone opening their home to you with all of its sensations.
Tactile,
Physical,
Emotional.
Just notice what that makes you feel.
What comes up for you.
Being welcomed.
What does that mean to you?
Maybe it's fearful.
Maybe new places are scary.
Or you have anxiety about saying or doing the right thing or being approved of.
Sure.
But you can know when you go into this home,
You can feel at home.
This is a complete,
Uninhibited invitation.
There's bread cooking in the oven just for you.
There's love and warmth and music to welcome you.
You will be given more than you can handle.
More than you need in this space.
Your hunger will be sated.
Your thirst will be quenched.
Your time will be filled with laughter and warmth.
In this mythic place,
Or maybe reflecting on a real experience you've had,
Just notice what it feels like.
Whether your muscles start to relax and your jaw becomes loose and comfortable.
Maybe you resist because you're not used to being treated with such generosity.
Just notice.
What's it like when a person who is different to you maybe has different opinions,
Different tastes,
Different schedules.
Nonetheless,
Welcomes you as a guest,
Almost as a family member,
With open arms into their sanctuary.
Take that in.
See what lessons you have to absorb from your own experiences of hospitality,
Real or envisioned.
Maybe you hear a knock at your door,
A guest you're expecting,
Or perhaps someone you're not.
She or he or they are nervous and excited.
Maybe you're very eager to make them feel at home because you know how important it can be to you.
Opening not just your door,
But your pantry,
Your kitchen,
Your couch and bed,
Your heart to a stranger,
To a guest,
To a loved one whom you don't know yet.
What might that be like?
To become truly available,
Present and open and generous.
Letting them into your hearth and eventually into your heart.
Sharing of your food,
Your tea and coffee,
Candy,
A warm embrace,
A place to sit.
Quiet space,
Whatever they need,
That can be your service.
How does it feel?
What does it bring up for you?
Maybe there are anxieties,
Maybe excitement and fulfillment,
Contentedness.
Breathing,
Just experiencing in your mind's eye the act of hospitality.
Stretching yourself for it.
Welcome,
Welcome,
Welcome.
Come on in.
What does that idea raise for you?
What do you feel?
What sensations in your body and also feelings in your depths?
Maybe you can name it,
Maybe it doesn't have words.
But you just sense it.
What it is to be welcomed and how it is to welcome another.
The power they're in.
Breathing with that expansiveness.
Stretching out to make a friend,
To open the circle of your concern.
To include your host and your guest as though family.
Breathe them in.
Expanding yourself,
Letting it go,
Breathing in,
Letting it go,
And just expanding towards the other,
Whether they be guest or host.
Letting yourself in and letting another in.
With as much joy and comfort as you can muster,
Not judging,
Just welcoming.
