03:08

Lay It Down

by Michelle Francois-Walsh

Rated
4.7
Type
talks
Activity
Meditation
Suitable for
Everyone
Plays
318

This talk is dedicated to anyone who at any time has felt overwhelmed, uncertain or untethered. Sometimes this life can feel like a lot of things all at once. This is a gentle reminder we can find respite in laying it down. Allowing ourselves to do a trust fall into surrender. Photo taken by my friend and partner in crime, Karen, at Waterton Lakes National Park in Canada.

SurrenderStressAnxietyNatureGratitudeRitualsSurrender PracticeStress And Anxiety ReductionNature VisualizationGratitude PracticeDaily Rituals

Transcript

If you're anything like me,

Sometimes events in life can feel overwhelming and we find ourselves ruminating,

Feeling unsettled and uncertain and basically untethered.

And so if that's happened to you,

Me too.

And I was having one of those weeks just recently and I actually remembered that I could ask the Creator for help.

And that sounds something like,

Hey there God,

You know it's Michelle down here spinning as usual.

What would you like me to know?

And I received an answer to that question as soon as I asked and it was simply,

Lay it down.

This is an invitation for us to lay it down,

An idea that's so simple and yet so profound.

Let's lay down our stress and our anxiety and our feelings of overwhelm at the base of an ancient redwood tree.

Let's lay it down in the grains of sand at the beach with our bare feet.

Let's lay it down in the surprise cave that we found with the help of a stranger with ferns decorating the roof like chandeliers and the drip dropping of water sounding like an echoey chant.

Let's lay it down in the smile of a grocery store stranger or in allowing someone to merge in front of us in traffic even though we're running late or in Thanksgiving for our bodies.

Let's lay it down listening to the same exact guided meditation every single morning because the woman's voice sounds like part grandma and part kind teacher and part welcoming Airbnb host all rolled into one.

Let's lay it down as we light a candle,

As we clean an altar,

As we water our one and only plant in the kitchen window,

As we whisper pray Basil please stay alive we all really need you right now.

Let's lay it down like an offering to the sky because the truth is it's too much to hold and it's not ours to hold anyways.

Surrender.

Let's be held.

Let's lay it down.

Meet your Teacher

Michelle Francois-WalshSan Jose, CA, USA

4.7 (61)

Recent Reviews

Konni

January 29, 2026

Awesome and just what I needed today. Thank you Michelle. 😇🤩

More from Michelle Francois-Walsh

Loading...

Related Meditations

Loading...

Related Teachers

Loading...
© 2026 Michelle Francois-Walsh. All rights reserved. All copyright in this work remains with the original creator. No part of this material may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the copyright owner.

How can we help?

Sleep better
Reduce stress or anxiety
Meditation
Spirituality
Something else