Evening Release: Taking Off The Costume

This meditation invites you to shed your professional persona and daily roles as if removing a suit of clothing at the end of the day. It emphasizes returning to a "soft body of being" and finding peace in the present moment without plans or rehearsed responses. Ultimately, it guides you to emerge from the day's "costume" freshly reborn into the quiet certitude of the evening. Image by marta_b; sound effect by Eryliaa, both from Pixabay.

Transcript

One this evening, As the earth turns from the sun, As the shadow of the night rises inexorably nearer, Let us lay aside the costume we have worn all the day and settle into the evening as ourselves, Simply human. The professional smile and the courtesy are all very useful and necessary. We have learned all these years how to be. We may even take great pride in it, Have conjured a self that so sparkles in the world, That can so get things done and even we might marvel at it. But now, As the evening settles, We can lay aside our professional selves, Like a suit of clothing that serves us well, That is not needed in the evening. The shirt and the pants, The shoes, The polished rings, And even the composed expression, Each one, Set them aside. Ah, Languish now in this soft body of being, In this pool of evening, Without a plan, Without a rehearsed response, Without anticipation of what will or should be. The reward for the day, Just being in the moment, Softly with the breath and the quiet certitude of belonging. On this evening, As the earth turns from the sun, Let us too turn from our busy professional selves, Slip off the costume and, As from a chrysalis, Emerge freshly reborn. We are here now, We have arrived. It is just us in the soft expanse of evening. Wish you great peace. Have a beautiful evening.