Welcome into this sacred space.
I like to begin my meditations with this invitation of welcome.
I encourage you today to welcome everything in as you move through this practice of acceptance and surrender.
You don't have to like what is arising.
It's not our job to approve or disprove,
Just to simply be open to what is happening.
When we are open and receptive,
We have options.
We are free to discover,
To investigate,
And to learn how to respond skillfully to anything we encounter.
We can't be free if we are rejecting any part of our lives.
So with welcoming comes an ability to meet and work with both pleasant and unpleasant circumstances.
This invitation,
Like life itself,
Asks us to cultivate a kind of fearless receptivity,
Not as an act of will,
But as an act of love for ourselves and for our lives.
Wherever you are right now,
Maybe place your hand over your heart.
Notice the feeling being held.
Come aware of your breath.
Observe how it feels within the walls of your body.
Can you deepen it here?
Can you feel an expansion?
Breathe in through the nose and out through the mouth.
Breathe a loss of a loved one,
A string of unmet expectations,
An unexpected turn of events,
A new job,
A relationship that no longer is in your life.
What feelings,
What thoughts arise?
Welcome it all.
Maybe pairing a simple mantra as you sit with your grief.
Expand,
Release,
Deepen.
Choosing a word that feels right for you.
Big inhale.
Big exhale.
Here you are now,
Sitting with your grief,
Accepting it,
Not because you want to,
But because it is already in existence.
Surrendering to that which is,
So as to lessen our own suffering.
Grief,
I've learned,
Isn't what or how you expect it to be.
It shows up in ways you never considered it would.
It's dynamic,
It's elusive,
And it's tricky to understand.
Since all that we know ablaze and in the rubble,
We must build again.
Here,
In this moment,
As you accept and surrender,
Build again.
For welcoming everything,
Like life itself,
Asks us to cultivate a kind of fearless receptivity,
Not as an act of will,
But an act of love for ourselves and our lives.
Thank you for your fearless receptivity today,
My friend.
I hope this moment served you well.
