Hello,
My friends.
Thank you for showing up for a walk with me,
Nancy Inspired.
And no matter where you're walking today,
We're going to just take a deep breath in as we start our journey.
A little bit of gratitude for the fact that we can move forward,
That we can walk,
That we can move our bodies in whatever capacity we are able.
I'm taking a deep breath in with gratitude that you've chosen to join me on this reflection.
Now as we start walking,
It doesn't matter where we're walking or how you're stepping.
This isn't a meditation where we're paying attention to how we're placing our foot.
We are just simply moving forward.
And that's where we're going to begin our reflection today,
As we're going to take a deep breath in as we breathe in gratitude for our feet.
Our feet are the part of us that propels us on this journey.
And it's important as a metaphor that we remind ourselves that we are on a journey.
And it is about one foot in front of the other.
And it is about movement and momentum.
Sometimes we go sideways,
Sometimes we go backwards,
But we are moving forward.
And it's our feet that allow us to take those steps,
Take steps into the unknown,
Take steps into familiar places,
But it allows us to move forward.
So as we're walking today together,
Let's just take a deep breath in and take in the gratitude for our feet and for the journey that we're on in this life.
One foot in front of the other on our journey.
Now we're going to move up our bodies and we're going to take a deep breath in with gratitude for our legs.
And I want you to think about your joints,
Your knees,
Your ankles,
The big muscle groups,
The bones,
The pillars of your foundation.
The pillars that are your stability,
The things that hold you in place,
That help you to move in that momentum.
It's the metaphor for our experiences,
Our life,
The different things that we've encountered that bring us joy or grief or challenge or learning or celebration.
Those are the pillars at which we stand.
And within those pillars,
Our knees and our ankles provide us with flexibility and movement so that we can change and pivot.
They say that the only constant is change and our ability to move and pivot and switch directions allows us to adapt to the experiences in our life.
So with a big deep breath as we're walking today,
Give gratitude to your legs,
The pillars of your experience and foundation.
Gratitude for the joints that allow us to pivot and flex and change directions.
And sometimes those joints are not without their aches and pains,
But even with amidst change and when we have to change directions,
Sometimes there is some discomfort involved.
So let's just take another deep breath in with gratitude for our legs,
For our pillars as we join each other on this walk.
And as we move up our bodies,
We're going to focus in on our intestines and our stomach,
Our digestive tract.
Our digestive tract works unconsciously where we take in nutrients,
We take in food,
We take in water,
We take in nutrients.
And then it works almost like magic to sort out what's the nutrients we need,
What we don't need.
And then it expels what we don't need as waste.
This perfect system of taking in what we need,
Taking in nutrients,
And then expelling what we don't need as waste.
And that's a perfect metaphor for our lives.
Every experience,
Every interaction,
Every relationship that we enter into is like feeding our soul,
It's feeding ourselves.
And we take in what we can from those experiences,
We take in the nourishment and the wisdom and the learning from all the experiences,
From the mundane to the extraordinary.
And we internalize all of that.
And then by some system,
We figure out what is no longer serving us,
And then we expel it.
Now,
As a metaphor,
It would be great if we could really think about what is no longer serving us,
And be able to just let it go.
Just like our digestive system,
We don't think about it,
We just let go of what no longer serves us.
So right now as we're walking,
Take a few breaths and think about your experiences and what you've taken in over the last little while.
And what are you holding on to that maybe you don't need to hold on to?
And what can you expel and let go of that no longer serves you?
Let's take three deep breaths together,
And as we do so,
Consciously expel what no longer serves you,
Just like our digestive tract.
Letting go of that which no longer serves you.
Now we're going to move up into our lungs and our heart,
Our circulatory system.
We sometimes can breathe with acknowledgment,
Where we're using our breath to calm our bodies or to create intention.
And most of the time in our day-to-day lives,
We breathe without intention.
We breathe because it's what we do.
It's our existence.
And this is a metaphor for our lives,
In that we put out our intentions,
We breathe out our intentions,
What we like.
And then we trust that the universe,
That God,
That our divine nature,
Energy,
Then gives us what we need,
Gives us the nourishment.
And it's an unconscious process.
Just like breath,
We breathe in,
We breathe out.
We get what we need,
We nourish our body,
And we expel.
So as we're walking right now and we're thinking about how this air,
This breath that we're taking is actually propelling our movement,
It's giving us the vital oxygen that we need.
And we don't think about where this oxygen is going in our bodies.
Our body just knows what to do with it.
It knows where to take it.
It takes this oxygenated blood to our brains to help us to think and feel.
It takes it to all of our muscles,
Our joints,
Our systems,
To allow them to be oxygenated so that they can keep moving.
Just as we were talking about the intentions,
As we take this breath in and expel this breath and the breath goes where it needs to go,
We need to trust that when we are clear in our intentions,
When we are clear about what it is we want and the direction that we're going,
We have to trust that we're guided into exactly the situations that we need,
Just like the oxygen being taken throughout our bodies.
We're guided into the situations that we need.
We're guided to meet the people that we need,
To have the experiences that we need in order to learn,
In order to grow.
Let's just take a deep breath in with gratitude for our circulatory system,
Our lungs and our hearts that bring nourishment and oxygen where it needs to go without us even having to think about it.
And with another deep breath in we're going to just focus with gratitude on our arms,
Our hands,
Our shoulders.
And I know many of us are shouldering burdens,
We're carrying weights.
And right now I want you to just lift off that weight right now during this walk.
You don't need to be carrying any weights.
We can pick them up again at the end if you need to,
But right now just shrug off,
Literally take your shoulders,
Shrug them up to your ears as you're walking and shrug off the weights that you're carrying just for this moment.
Allow yourself to feel light and vibrant.
And thinking of our shoulders,
Our arms and our hands,
And at this moment I want you to think about all the things that you do,
The things you create,
The places you serve.
Our arms and our hands and our shoulders allow us to think about the ways in which we give in the world.
Maybe it's our families,
Our friends,
Our communities,
Our work.
And let's just be grateful for a moment for all the things that we do,
All the things that we're capable of doing,
All the things that we're not even aware that we're capable of doing it but that we have the capacity.
And let's just breathe in that gratitude for that capacity.
And as we focus on our hands and our fingers,
Think about our sense of touch and how we can touch what's around us.
We can take in,
We can sense,
We can give through our touch as well as receive through our touch.
And as we're walking right now,
Become conscious and aware of our hands.
What does the air feel like?
Even our clothing,
What does our clothing feel like?
And think about that sense of touch and that give and receive through touch.
And the magnitude and the majesty of all the little nerve endings that are in your fingers and how it allows you to take in and receive information as well as give communication.
Let's take a deep breath in together as we,
You know,
Think with gratitude about our ability to touch and to sense touch.
We're going to move up with gratitude to our throat.
And our throat is the area where the air comes in and out.
Our words come out,
Our communication,
What we put out into the world.
Food is a gateway.
It's a gateway for experience,
For life and vitality.
The air that's coming in and out,
The food that's nourishing us as well as our words and how we communicate.
Right now,
Just think with gratitude about our ability to communicate.
There are so many ways that we can communicate.
We can communicate through body language,
Through emotion,
Through energy,
But our words have power.
And right now,
Take a moment with gratitude to think about the words and the way that you communicate.
Is there a way that you can communicate softer?
Is there a way that you can communicate bolder?
What is it that you need right now in terms of communication?
Is it the ability to set boundaries?
Is it the ability to laugh and express joy?
Take a moment as we think about our ability to communicate and the incredible gift that that is and the incredible power that it gives us when we harness the ability to communicate.
Take a deep breath in with gratitude for our throat.
And as we move up,
I want you to think about your head,
Your senses,
Your senses of sight and smell and taste and hearing.
And right now,
Look around you and take in all of the sights and smells and tastes and sounds.
Wherever you're walking,
Take a few deep breaths as you internalize and take in the majestic orchestra of senses that are around you.
As you're propelling yourself forward,
Take some deep breaths in and acknowledge all of the sensations.
Acknowledge the sounds you hear,
The smells you smell,
The sights you see.
Too often,
We go through life quickly and we don't stop to really take in all the sensations around us.
Then we're going to move up into our brain,
This expansive organ that allows us to think and feel and expand.
The possibilities,
The imagination is limitless.
As we think about our brains and the capability that we have to be creative,
To think,
To wonder,
To be curious.
What kinds of things are you curious about?
What have you allowed yourself to play with and be curious about?
To allow you to expand and take up space,
That mental space.
It's a metaphor for what's around you and what's available and what's possible.
What's possible is only a matter of thinking about it and allowing it to happen.
So right now in this moment,
Take a deep breath in and allow yourself to celebrate the expansiveness of you and what you're capable of.
You're capable of anything that you put your mind to.
And with gratitude,
I end this reflection and thank you for joining me on our walk today.
I look forward to walking with you again.
