Welcome.
This meditation is designed to be a moving meditation and has particular benefits if you listen to it while walking.
If that's not accessible to you,
I invite you to simply visualize yourself walking.
I'd also like to note that I do use gendered language in this meditation.
This is because I'm a coach for midlife women and so I speak from and to that experience.
However,
This meditation is for anyone who feels called to listen.
So please adapt the language as needed to align with your own identity and experience.
We'll be taking a journey not just with our feet but through time itself,
Meeting the many versions of you who have existed and who will exist.
I recommend finding a place where you can walk comfortably.
This might be a park,
A neighborhood sidewalk or any area where you have space.
Begin walking at a comfortable natural pace.
Notice the sensation of your feet making contact with the ground.
Feel the gentle pressure as your heel touches down.
Then the rolling motion as your weight shifts forward to your toes.
Notice your breath.
There's no need to change it.
Simply observe how it naturally flows in and out as you walk.
Allow your arms to swing gently at your sides,
Finding their natural rhythm.
As you continue walking,
Imagine that with each step forward,
You're moving backward in time.
First,
Just a few years.
Think of yourself five years ago.
What was happening in your life?
What were your hopes,
Your challenges?
Visualize this version of you walking alongside you now.
Notice her posture,
Her expression.
Acknowledge what she was experiencing without judgment.
Now go back further.
See yourself a decade or so ago.
What was important to you then?
What were you learning?
Invite this version of yourself to join your walk.
See her stepping into pace beside you and your five years ago self.
Now travel further back,
Maybe to your 20s.
Perhaps you were full of adventure then,
Or uncertainty,
Or passion.
Watch as this younger version of you joins the growing procession of your other selves.
Finally,
See yourself as a teenager,
Perhaps even as a child.
Notice the dreams,
The vulnerability,
The openness of these younger selves.
Invite them to walk with you too.
Look around at this gathering of your past selves,
All walking together.
Each one carried you forward.
Each one did the best she could with what she knew at the time.
As you continue walking,
Imagine your 30-year-old self turning to speak with your teenage self.
What might they say to each other?
What might they learn?
Perhaps your 30-year-old self offers wisdom about patience,
Perhaps your teenage self reminds the older one about passion and possibility.
Now,
See your child self reaching out to hold hands with yourself from five years ago.
What comfort might they offer each other?
What recognition passes between them?
These conversations continue as you walk.
Each version of you has something to offer the others.
Each carries a piece of wisdom,
A lesson learned,
A quality worth preserving.
Now,
Bring your attention back to your present self.
The one walking,
Breathing,
Listening to these words right now.
See how all your past selves turn toward you with recognition.
They've all been walking toward you.
Everything they learned,
Everything they experienced was in service of bringing you to this moment,
To who you are today.
Welcome them.
Thank them.
See how they gather around you now,
Offering their gifts.
Resilience from difficult times.
Joy from moments of celebration.
Wisdom from mistakes.
Strength from challenges overcome.
Feel the completeness of having all these parts of yourself acknowledged,
Honored and present.
As you continue walking,
Shift your gaze forward.
In the distance,
You can just make out another figure walking toward you and your gathered selves.
This is your future self.
She walks with purpose.
With presence.
As she comes closer,
Notice what you observe about her.
How does she carry herself?
What expression does she wear?
What energy emanates from her?
This is not some perfect,
Unattainable version of you.
This is you who has continued to grow,
To learn,
To become.
She carries all the same past selves that you do,
But she has integrated their wisdom more fully.
Now,
You and all your past selves begin walking toward her.
With each step,
Feel the strength of moving forward as a whole being.
Not leaving behind any part of who you've been.
But bringing all of yourself into your becoming.
As you draw closer to your future self,
Notice that she's not a fixed point always moving away from you.
She is simply you,
A few steps ahead on the path.
And with each deliberate step you take,
You move closer to embodying her wisdom,
Her presence,
Her way of being in the world.
Continue walking,
Feeling the company of all your selves,
Past,
Present,
And future moving as one.
There is no version of you that needs to be abandoned or left behind.
All are welcome on this journey of becoming.
With each step,
Feel the integration of all these selves.
The wisdom of your future self is already within you.
The resilience of your past selves is already part of your foundation.
As you walk through the world,
Today and in the days to come,
Remember this gathering of selves.
When you face a challenge,
Call on the strength of your whole self.
When you celebrate a joy,
Share it with all the versions of you who helped bring you to this moment.
You are whole.
You are becoming.
Just as nothing that is meant for you can be missed,
Nothing of value is ever truly left behind.
When you're ready,
Bring your attention back to your surroundings.
Notice the details around you.
Feel your feet making contact with the earth.
Take a deep breath in.
And as you exhale,
Carry this sense of wholeness with you as you continue your day.
Thank you so much for joining me for this moving meditation.
Remember that this practice is available to you at any time.
You carry all these selves with you always.
And you can call on their wisdom,
Their strength,
Their unique gifts whenever you need them.
Go gently with yourself today and always,
Sending love from my heart to yours.
Namaste.
