Last week I got lost in the woods.
I got lost in the woods but I was,
I was loving it,
It was just me,
I was stomping along with my hiking boots on,
More or less in my head,
So enjoying the woodland but,
You know,
My mind was dancing around.
At one point I looked down at my feet and realised that there were all these beautiful leaves,
Vivid,
Vivid green,
Almost carpeting the forest floor,
And you had the sun coming through the incredibly tall trees,
The weather was mild,
The birds were singing,
And I realised that I'd been stomping along,
And really stomping,
And not really thinking about the path I was on,
But actually when I took the time to look down,
You had all this delicate life coming up through the forest floor that was so beautiful,
And I thought to myself,
Nami,
Tread lightly,
Tread lightly.
I've been thinking about that over the last week,
And the idea that a lightness,
A respect,
A care,
A consideration,
A slight slowing down,
To observe,
To listen.
It can help us care for ourselves,
When we slow down a bit,
When we're light with ourselves,
And it can also help us in relation to each other,
And the world.
So I'd like us to explore this today in practice.
Settling,
Arriving,
Noticing how you feel,
Lightly.
Maybe scanning around the body,
Feet,
Legs,
Bottom,
Belly,
Chest.
Allowing yourself to settle and relax,
Shoulders,
Arms,
Hands,
Lightly.
Neck,
Face,
Jaw,
Perhaps open lightly.
Noticing the in and out of the breath,
Lightly,
No need for an intense concentration or focus.
Perhaps you can move more lightly through life,
Perhaps there are areas in which you can slow down a little.
Speak less,
Listen more,
Observe more,
There might be areas in which you can wait.
Pause,
See what happens,
See what emerges,
Allow the water to clear,
Allow the dust to settle.
Allow your mind to settle,
And see,
Hear,
Experience what exists in the moment.
Perhaps if we approach life,
Situations,
Ourselves and others,
The natural world,
With a bit more lightness,
We see things we hadn't seen before.
Like me seeing the first sign to the spring on the forest floor.
Perhaps approaching life,
A transient experience in itself,
With a bit more lightness,
Helps us savour,
Helps us be here now.
May you be free,
Awake and free,
And may you know that you are loved,
And thank you so so much for practicing with me today.
