Tonight there is nothing you need to solve,
Nothing you need to fix,
Nothing you need to hold together.
This is a place where you are allowed to soften,
To loosen your grip,
To rest.
And as you settle into your body,
Feel the surface beneath you supporting your full weight.
Let the muscles of your face relax,
Unclench the jaw and let the shoulders melt down and away from the ears.
You're safe to rest now.
Take a slow gentle breath in and an unhurried breath out.
Again in,
Simply staying anchored with your breathing and the sound of my voice as we allow the images and the story to unfold in our minds eye.
You find yourself standing at the edge of a quiet shoreline just before nightfall.
The sky is painted in deep indigos and soft violets.
The air is warm and still.
The world around you feels hushed,
Nothing but the sound of the wind and the waves in front of you.
You begin to notice that you are carrying something,
Not with your hands,
But within your body.
Perhaps it is anger,
Sharp and heavy.
Perhaps it is stress,
A tightness,
A restlessness.
Perhaps it is worry,
Looping thoughts,
Unfinished business.
And maybe you can't name it perfectly.
It's something that you notice.
And as you look down,
You realize that your pockets are full of many smooth stones that you've been carrying.
You didn't choose them consciously.
You picked them up while doing your best,
While surviving,
While coping.
There is no judgment here.
But nevertheless,
You are carrying these stones with you when you no longer need to.
Bringing the stones into your hands,
You step towards the shoreline and drop them one by one on the water's edge.
And the waves sweep close,
Touching the tips of your toes as it drags the stones away.
And it takes them all from you.
You watch that slow drag back and forth until all the stones are gone.
As you walk along the shoreline,
In the distance you can see a sacred fire burning,
Its soft golden glow calling to you.
And as you get closer,
You notice that the fire burns steadily.
It is contained within a circle of stones.
It's not wild,
It's not consuming,
But it is wise.
This fire exists to warm you,
To heal you.
So you find a seat in front of the fire and you allow its glow to radiate across every part of your body.
The soft crackling,
The gentle breeze,
The waves rolling in the distance,
The warmth of the fire that comforts and banishes the cold.
You allow the flames to soften every muscle,
To help your shoulders drop a little more.
Every bit of stiffness,
Every bit of tension can be melted in the face of the fire.
And as the sun is fully set and darkness has taken hold,
You feel yourself becoming more and more tired,
Safe and at ease.
You feel your nervous system responding to the in and out of the waves,
The warmth,
The ability to let go of the things that you've been carrying.
The sea is calm now.
The wind has died down.
And you may even feel like you could just lie down.
Beside the fire,
Your breath moves easily,
Your belly softens and your mind no longer needs to search for answers.
Everything important can wait until the morning.
The sound of the waves becomes slower and softer.
Your thoughts are beginning to drift like clouds,
Passing,
Thinning,
Dissolving.
You don't need to follow them,
Your body knows it's time to sleep.
And as you drift deeper now,
Into the quiet,
Into the dark,
Into the safety of sleep,
Know that you are allowed to rest and you're safe to let go.
