Find a comfortable seat where you feel at ease and spacious.
Find quietude and stillness in yourself by letting go of any resistance to the present moment.
Welcoming all that is on the level of sensation,
On the level of thought,
And on the level of emotions.
Not allowing these things to overtake you or to be focal point,
But rather to be a part of your experience that you accept,
Allow,
And see as passing by and passing through you.
As you breathe,
Imagine that you are on a beautiful field,
It is a clearing surrounded by birch trees.
Birds in the trees are singing gently and cheerfully.
It is a calm day with a bit of sunshine coming in through the canopy of the trees,
Warm enough to be comfortable without a jacket.
You are alone in this clearing,
In this space,
But not feeling lonely.
Surrounded by solitude and stillness,
You feel like you belong and are held.
You connect with your own heart now,
The truth of who you are and how you are in this moment,
With all of its beautiful parts and aspects.
Letting go of anything that does not serve,
Anything that's in the way,
In terms of trying to overly identify with anything,
Change it,
Fix it,
Improve upon it,
Or shoo it away.
Instead you have a horizontal love,
A love that is not up and down,
But rather sideways to the left and to the right of you,
Extending in both directions so far into the field so that you feel rooted and grounded in this moment with your love.
And from this place of connection,
Invite a person you may not even know their name,
Someone you may have seen at the grocery store,
Or a stranger that you've passed on your way to work,
Someone that you can see their face,
But they're a relative stranger,
A neutral party in your life,
Someone who does not evoke neither positive or negative emotion,
But rather is another fellow human that you've interacted with today or in the last week.
And as they come toward you,
Make a welcoming space in your heart.
They sit in front of you and you just start to appreciate your shared humanity,
Seeing how they too have all their trials and tribulations and joys and triumphs just like you.
As you silently observe this human and they silently observe you,
You think to yourself and to them,
Maybe you even say it out loud,
May you be happy.
May you be free.
May you be at peace.
And see them receiving your good wishes,
Your goodwill.
They smile,
They put their hands on their heart or nod at you gently with a smile.
And they return the blessings saying to you,
May you be happy.
May you be free.
May you be at peace.
You take that in,
You are grateful to this stranger for sharing this pilgrimage of being human together on this earth at the same time.
You know that by virtue of being in this existence together,
You want them to also be free of suffering and able to walk their path with more ease and joy and freedom and love.
And so they get up and they wave goodbye and they leave the field slowly as you return to your own center.
Next think of someone who is easy to love.
It could be a pet,
It could be your best friend,
It could be someone you remember fondly,
It could be a mentor,
Anybody or anything that conjures a warm,
Joyful feeling within you as soon as you think of them with little resistance to it at all.
Someone who makes you smile,
Who you feel loved by and whom you love in return.
And as they come to mind,
Invite them onto this field and see how they arrive.
Maybe they're skipping onto the field or running toward you or walking with a big grin on their face and see yourselves greeting each other the way you're prone to doing given how much joy and connection is flowing between you.
And then as the excitement settles down,
They sit before you and they look at you first and they say,
May you be happy,
May you be free,
May you be at peace.
You receive their love and their good wishes and you take it in and you bask in it,
You savor this joyful moment and you look back at this person who means so much to you and you say to them,
May you be happy,
May you be free,
May you be at peace.
And as you both enjoy that mutual sharing,
They receive your well wishes and they take them in and they feel brighter and fuller for having gotten to have this encounter with you.
You know you enrich each other's lives and you're so grateful for that fact.
And in time,
They slowly give you a hug or a farewell goodbye for now and they make their way off the field.
And you sit with the warmth and joy that continues to radiate out from that interaction.
Sitting there breathing,
Take a couple more deep breaths in through the nose and out through the mouth.
With a full heart,
You think of someone who has been harder to love.
It doesn't have to be the hardest person in your life to love but someone who comes up right now as needing some love and attention or that you feel available to connecting with even though it has been historically or recently tough between you two.
There's been tension,
There's been conflict,
Disease,
Disharmony.
Do you feel ready enough to invite them to this space?
You don't have to greet them with a hug and you don't have to feel like you're going to resolve anything in that moment but you're open to welcoming them here just to be together as humans.
So when you know what person that is,
See them come onto the field in their own way.
If they feel like they want to receive your invitation.
And as they approach,
Just notice the energy between you,
Notice the rift or the walls that might be up in the space between you and slowly invite a light softening.
Know that it's safe for you and safe for this other person to interact as far as you need to.
So as they approach,
They don't have to sit right in front of you.
Wherever the distance feels correct and appropriate,
They stop and sit right there.
And as you stand before each other here,
One of you begins choose who wants to go first.
And the one who starts says to the other,
May you be happy,
May you be free,
May you be at peace.
Whatever is transpiring between you,
This level of goodwill is still available,
Is still present.
So whomever received that,
Let them take in that underneath the tension and conflict there is even if it doesn't feel as accessible as all the others or as usual or as you'd like,
That there can be this well wish.
There can be this extension of goodwill.
When that person has taken that in,
They reciprocate and they look at the one who started and they say back in return,
May you be happy,
May you be free,
And may you be at peace.
The person hearing that receives it and you both sit in silence for a few moments taking in what has just happened between you.
Breathing together at the same time in through the nose,
Out through the mouth,
In through the nose,
Out through the mouth,
And that person bows gently in your direction,
Takes their leave and walks away slowly from the field leaving you in this clearing once again how you started with the birds and the wind and the green and the birch trees and the blue sky and the clouds and the sun coming through.
Feel the earth underneath you as you're seated and the grasses and you just take in how you're feeling now.
Check in with yourself.
Last but not least,
To all of you,
All the parts of yourself or a specific part of yourself that wants particularly more doses of love today,
An inner child,
A protective part who's a little scared,
Any aspect of yourself that might need an extra dose of connection and or your whole being,
You can even hug yourself or put your hands face down on your knees or on your belly and your heart and you begin to say to yourself,
Dear One,
May I be happy,
May I be free,
And may I be at peace.
May I be happy,
May I be free,
May I be at peace.
May I be happy,
May I be free,
May I be at peace.
So it is and so you are.
You can seal this with a slight bow or a little bit of pressure from your own self touch,
Just giving yourself that little pat.
And then when you're ready,
Drop the hands back to the sides,
Maybe palms up open and receptive take another deep breath in.
Exhale,
Release it.
And set an intention to be available to the good in your life today that you can receive and that you can offer others as you so journey on this life together.
