Hi,
I'm Stephen Webb,
And welcome to this lovely meditation.
For the one who carries.
The carer,
The parent,
The partner,
A friend,
Or the quiet person that everyone leans on.
For these few minutes,
We set the weight down,
Turn kindness back towards ourselves,
And offer three simple phrases.
May I be held.
May I be soft.
May I rest.
So let's begin.
When you're ready,
Just find a position that makes you feel supported and held.
And let your weight rest on whatever is holding you,
Whether it is the chair,
The bed or a cushion on the floor.
And just let your shoulders soften just a little.
We do not need to do anything with the body or the breath.
We simply become aware.
And as you become aware of your breath now.
Just acknowledge that your body knows how to breathe.
Your body knows how to relax.
And we just invite and allow these things to happen in this moment.
And you may notice the sounds in the room and do it without needing to name any of them.
Recognise that they come and go.
Same with my voice and the same with the gaps between my words.
And we are here now.
And while you're setting in,
Just.
.
.
A little bit of understanding what it means to carry.
Many of us are carrying something.
Whether it's ourselves,
A parent,
A child,
A partner who may be just tired.
A friend who rings us late at night or at the wrong times.
We carry because we love.
And because we care deeply.
And because it is who we are.
And that is just the simple truth.
But there is a difference between loving someone and being the one who holds them every day.
And if we're honest,
Sometimes we may grieve for the life we do not have because we're busy carrying and holding someone else's.
And with the grief sometimes the guilt comes.
Or perhaps resentment.
These are not a failure,
These are just being human.
They arrive when holding has gone on too long without a break sometimes.
We do not need to power them on top of the load.
They're just other things we are carrying.
And we're going to let them rest too.
And you know,
The one who cares for others needs caring for too.
And often the only one near enough is us.
So for these few minutes we turn the kindness around.
The people you love are safe enough.
The world will keep turning.
We are setting it down,
Not forever,
Just now.
Let us sit with this.
Bring your attention into your hands.
Feel them resting somewhere open or loose or cold.
Just feel them.
These are the hands that have done so much holding.
They have held food,
Drinks and the phone late at night in the small hand of someone smaller.
Notice them and let them soften here.
Now bring your attention to your chest.
The place where we carry without realising it sometimes.
It might feel tight,
It might feel just quiet.
Sometimes it may feel a little resentment.
And maybe then guilt.
But even that's okay.
We are not trying to change it.
You're just noticing.
And just bring your awareness to your breath.
Breathing in calm,
Breathing out relaxed.
And together we're going to say three quiet phrases.
And the first one is to ourselves,
The one who has been carrying.
So place your hand on your heart if it feels right.
May I be held.
May I be soft.
May I rest.
May I be held.
May I be so.
May I rest.
Now bring your mind to one of the people we carry.
It may be the first person that comes to your mind when I said the word carrying.
We're not fixing anything for them.
May you be held.
May you be soft.
And may you rest.
And now gently we widen.
There are so many of us all around the world quietly holding someone.
The carer no one sees.
The parent up three in the morning.
And the friend who answered the phone again.
For all of us who are carrying in this moment.
May we be held.
May we be solved.
May we rest.
And just notice what is here now.
A carrying Israel.
But maybe for a moment.
The hand has softened around it.
When you pick it up again in a little while,
It may be the same weight.
But this time you may carry it differently.
With the hand that is rested.
Now I'm going to count back from five.
We're just going to return to the room.
So five,
Gently become aware of the room you're in.
Four,
Open your eyes.
Three,
Just move your arms,
Wiggle your fingers.
Two,
Just look around.
And one,
Take a deeper breath.
Thank you for sitting with me today.
