Welcome to this meditation on loneliness and your inner child.
Take a moment to get comfortable.
Let your body settle into whatever way it needs.
Curled up.
Lying down.
Sitting upright.
There's no right way.
Just the way that feels most comfortable and most like you.
Take a slow breath in and let it out.
If it feels comfortable.
Take another deep breath in.
Letting everything soften.
Drop your shoulders,
Your jaw,
Your chest.
Let this be a moment where you don't have to pretend.
You don't have to hold anything together.
You don't have to be strong.
Just breathe.
Just be here.
Be yourself.
Bring your attention gently to the feeling of loneliness.
The one that sits quietly inside.
The one you often push down because you think no one would understand.
Let it rise.
Let it be seen.
Where is that feeling in your body today?
Is it like an ache in your heart?
A heaviness behind your eyes?
A tightness in your throat?
Like you're holding back words you've been carrying for years?
Whatever it is,
Don't run from it.
Just breathe.
With this feeling,
You are allowed to breathe.
You are allowed to feel.
You are allowed to be human.
Place a hand on your heart or your stomach or on anywhere that aches and quietly say to yourself,
I know this hurts,
But I am here with you.
Loneliness is not a flaw.
It is not proof that you are unlovable.
It is simply a part of you that has been waiting for months or even years to be held.
Let's invite our inner child in.
Now imagine a doorway,
If it feels comfortable,
Appearing in front of you.
You know this doorway.
It leads to a time in your life when you first felt alone.
When you're ready,
Step through.
See yourself.
A younger you,
Standing or sitting somewhere familiar.
Maybe in a childhood bedroom or a quiet corner of your house or perhaps a place outside that you often escaped to when you were young.
Look at them.
Really look.
Notice how small they are.
Notice the way they're holding themselves.
The way they are trying so hard to be brave,
To be good,
To finally be enough for someone else.
Sitting with them,
Take a slow breath and walk towards this child,
This version of you.
As you get closer,
See the emotion in their eyes.
Maybe confusion or longing or exhaustion of feeling unseen.
Let your voice be gentle as you say,
I know you.
I remember you.
I've missed you.
Watch their reaction.
Maybe they're surprised.
Maybe they start to cry.
Maybe they look away.
Whatever they feel is okay.
They've been alone with their feelings for so long.
Ask them softly,
What have you been carrying?
What have you been afraid to say?
And listen.
Not with your mind so much,
But listen with your heart.
Maybe they tell you about the nights they felt forgotten.
Maybe they tell you how hard they tried to be good enough.
Maybe they say they were scared.
They might even whisper,
Why didn't anyone stay?
Let whatever comes up,
Come up.
Your younger self is trusting you with their truth.
And you now,
Here,
Are strong enough to hear it.
If tears come,
Let them fall.
Tears no longer mean weakness.
They are proof that the heart is opening.
It is okay to cry.
It is safe here,
Now.
Gently hold this version of you,
This younger child,
Younger self,
If they allow it.
If touch is not okay,
If they're not ready,
Instead,
Just sit close.
Be a steady,
Constant presence.
Say to them,
Maybe slowly or with some tenderness,
You never deserved to feel so alone.
You should have been held more.
You should have been listened to.
You should have been loved deeply.
And I'm so sorry that you weren't.
Let your voice tremble if it needs to.
Let emotion move through you.
Then say,
You don't have to carry this anymore.
I am here,
Now.
I'm not leaving.
Maybe you feel their body soften,
Or their breathing slow,
Or their hand reach for yours.
Feel them letting you in.
Now imagine wrapping your arms around this younger you,
Or take their hand,
Or sit with your shoulder touching theirs.
Tell them,
I'm taking you with me.
You don't have to wait for someone else to show up.
I am your safe person,
Now.
See them slowly lean into you.
See the relief on their face.
See their loneliness melt in your presence.
You are becoming whole again.
You are reclaiming the parts of yourself that had to grow up without enough love.
Now imagine holding this child close and slowly pulling them into your chest,
Into the warm,
Safe space of your heart.
Feel them merging with you.
Their courage becoming your courage.
Their hope becoming your hope.
Their softness returning home.
They are not gone.
They are simply safe,
Now.
Take a deep breath in,
And let it out slowly.
Feel your breath.
Feel your heart.
Feel the quiet undercurrent of healing taking place.
Loneliness may still be there,
But it is no longer abandoned,
No longer ignored,
No longer carrying the weight alone.
You are with yourself now,
In a way you weren't before.
You are not empty.
You are full of your own compassion.
You are not alone.
You have reunited with the part that has always needed you most.
Place a hand on your heart once more,
And whisper,
I am here.
I am with you.
I will not leave myself alone again.
When you're ready,
Slowly open your eyes,
And return to the world softer,
Braver,
And maybe a little more whole.
Namaste.
