Lately,
Life feels like it's moving in fast motion.
Most of us move through a day like this.
Responsibilities stack on top of each other.
Calendar that never quite has an empty square in it.
That sense if you stop moving,
Even for a minute,
Something might fall.
And so we keep going.
We get good at going.
Some of us get so good at it that we forget that there's any other way to live.
This meditation isn't about solving your schedule or making responsibilities disappear.
It's just allowing the pause to exist.
It's about something smaller.
Maybe a little radical.
Remembering that you are allowed to slow down.
Without earning it.
Having everything handled in the midst of life,
In the midst of the craziness,
You are allowed to pause.
And that's the practice today.
Practicing stillness.
Allowing your nervous system to remember what it feels like to not be reaching for the next thing.
So I'll invite you to find your way into stillness.
However that looks like for you today.
And allow your eyes to close.
Taking a deep breath in.
And let it go.
Bring your attention to your breath.
The rise and fall of your chest.
And notice where you feel it most today.
Perhaps you notice the passing of air at each nostril.
Maybe you notice it filling your belly as you breathe in.
We don't need to change our breath,
We just need to notice.
And as you breathe here,
Begin to allow your body to relax.
Maybe letting your shoulders drop a little further with each breath.
Giving yourself permission to let go.
Now,
Gently gather together all the things you're responsible for in your mind and gently set them aside.
You don't need to list them or sort them.
Just imagine yourself allowing them to fill the room without consuming yourself in them.
Allow them to exist beside you,
So feeling like you need to address them.
And notice how that feels within your body.
You can set things down.
And allow yourself to breathe amidst the craziness of life.
Allow yourself to breathe in.
Receiving this moment exactly as it is.
I'm breathing out to let go of what isn't yours to carry in this moment.
Breathing in,
Receiving.
And breathing out,
Releasing.
There's a difference between rest and collapse.
Collapse is what happens to us when we finally run out of steam.
A lot of energy.
Rest is a choice we make before that.
It's a moment of love we choose on purpose.
This is that door.
You don't have to earn stillness.
You don't need to have everything done today.
Or have been productive enough this week to take this moment.
Permission you are seeking is within.
You are allowed to be here.
As we pause in this stillness,
Let your next few breaths be slower than the ones before them.
Not effortful slowness.
Just allowing them to come and go.
And if at any moment your to-do list arrives within your mind,
Allow it to pass by.
And know that there is time to address it later.
As we come back to ourselves,
Place one hand on your chest if that feels right for you.
Feel the small,
Steady proof that you are here,
Still breathing.
Still whole underneath all the doing.
This quiet moment,
This breath,
This permission to slow down.
It's always here for you.
You don't have to leave it behind as you move into the craziness of life.
You just need to remember to slow down.
Just take a deep breath.
And to say yes to the pause.
