The peregrine falcon is the fastest animal on earth,
Not because it beats its wings harder,
Because it lets go at exactly the right moment.
It rises first up into the open sky,
Spots its target,
And only then folds its wings in and falls faster than anything else alive can move.
Before we begin,
Bring something to mind,
Something you're already working on,
A plan you've made.
A goal you have.
Just let it come into view gently the way a falcon first spots its target and simply knows that's the one.
It's effortless,
This recognition.
It may be a work project.
A relationship.
A personal goal?
Maybe it's something you've wanted to do but have been waiting to start,
Yet it's something that inside you know you're ready to do.
I invite you now to get as comfortable as you can.
You have created this time in a safe place.
Let yourself lean fully into the present moment.
If it feels right,
Let your eyes close.
Feel the chair or the bed beneath you,
Wherever your weight is resting.
Notice the temperature of the air on your skin.
Notice any sounds in your room and let them go.
I invite you to let your shoulders soften.
Feel into your hands,
Wherever they are resting.
Perhaps there's a slight tingle in your fingers.
Or maybe you can feel the texture of fabric underneath your poems.
Now relax a little more.
Acknowledge any distracting thoughts and let them pass by like a leaf in the wind.
For the next few moments,
We'll begin by just noticing the breath exactly as it is.
Notice it.
Without feeling any obligation to change it.
Just be with your breath for this moment.
If your mind is already gripping your plan or your to-do list.
Tightening around it.
Notice that too.
Let it be there.
It's perfectly normal.
That's what brains love to do.
But for now,
Let it be there as just something you're aware of.
In a moment,
We're going to climb higher and get a falcon's eye view.
Of this idea,
This goal of yours.
Which may bring some additional perspective.
So hold off striving for your next step or trying to create something altogether new.
Just let the flow of your breath guide you.
Into this relaxed state of being.
Now,
Let's visualize the falcon's climb.
Picture yourself rising with her,
Riding a warm air current,
Circling higher with each breath.
Our falcon friend is not struggling,
Flapping hard against the air,
But rather she's making small adjustments in each present moment.
Letting the thermals do the work of lifting her higher with each circle.
She climbs as she leans in.
As she relaxes more.
And you can too.
Breathe in slowly and rise.
Breathe out slowly and rise still.
Every breath in and out lifts you a little higher.
Carried by the present moment.
Rather than any effort on your own.
Take slow breaths here at your own pace and picture yourself circling higher and higher into the open sky along with the falcon.
Feeling the wind under your own wings.
Climbing Breath by breath.
As the landscape below you gets broader and wider.
Rest here at the top for just a moment.
The way our falcon friend pauses here,
Too.
She scans below her and spies her target.
Let your own plan come into view here.
The same one that you brought to mind before we began?
See it out ahead of you.
With what you know so far.
And from up here.
Take a moment to look.
Does your target still feel right?
Has anything shifted since you last looked at it closely?
Let yourself notice without needing to solve anything.
Just see what's true from this height.
The way the falcon reads the wind before she commits.
Looking at your plan,
How does it feel in your body now?
Do you have any new insights from this height?
And only now,
If it feels right to do so.
I invite you to let yourself go,
To imagine yourself diving toward your target the same moment the falcon dives towards hers.
And as you fall,
Notice the falcon shifting again and again,
Small corrections,
Her wing and her tail staying in motion the whole way down,
Always responding,
Gaining speed,
Becoming more precise.
Keep going.
Let yourself go.
Trust that you already know how to do this.
You saw your target.
You made the plan.
You checked it from the height,
And you adjusted where it asked to be adjusted.
You can trust the parts of you that are still correcting the course.
That takes perspective and skill.
Inhale once more and see if you can let go more fully.
Visualize that you've landed like the falcon you have achieved your target you have it in hand you have completely arrived at your goal.
I invite you to take a moment of quiet reflection here.
Your plan has come to fruition.
How do you feel?
Where in your body?
Do you feel this?
What do you know now?
That you couldn't see clearly before.
Notice that this landing did not come from one perfect leak.
It came from seeing clearly.
Climbing with what you had,
Checking in from the height.
And adjusting all the way down in micro movements.
That's the part that is yours to trust.
Again and again.
Long before any landing.
Before we come back,
Let's take a moment to thank the Peregrine Falcon.
She has showed us what trusting ourselves actually looks like.
Seeing clearly.
Checking from the height.
Falling with full confidence.
Adjusting as we go.
And staying in relationship with ourselves through all of it.
Start to bring your attention back to the space around you.
Notice the surface beneath you.
The temperature of the air.
Wiggle your fingers.
Take one more easy breath.
Seeing clearly.
And when you're ready.
Open your eyes and come back into the room.
