Welcome,
Friend.
Wherever you are right now,
Whatever you carried into this moment,
You are welcome here.
All of it,
The noise,
The restlessness,
The thoughts that will not slow down,
All of it is welcome.
This meditation is for you,
Specifically.
Not for the version of you that has it together,
Not for the you that remembered everything on the list today or stayed focused in every meeting.
This is for the real you,
The one who is here,
Right now,
Tired perhaps,
Maybe a little scattered and still,
Somehow,
Showing up.
That is enough.
You showing up is enough.
Allow your eyes to close,
If that feels comfortable for you.
If not,
Let your gaze soften toward the floor in front of you.
Let your hands rest somewhere easy,
In your lap,
At your sides,
Wherever is comfortable.
And let your shoulders drop just slightly,
Just settle in.
We're going to breathe together for a few minutes.
Not to perform,
Not to do it perfectly,
Just to let the breath become something your mind can hold on to,
Gently,
Like a handrail in the dark.
Breathing with me now,
1,
2,
3,
4.
Hold,
1,
2,
3,
4.
Exhale,
1,
2,
3,
4,
5,
6.
Relaxing your body,
Let's breathe again.
Breathing in,
1,
2,
3,
4.
Hold,
1,
2,
3,
4.
Exhaling slowly,
1,
2,
3,
4,
5,
6.
Gently relaxing your body.
One more time,
On your own now.
In for 4,
Hold for 4,
Out for 6.
Follow the rhythm your body is settling into.
If your mind wandered during that time,
If you lost count,
If a thought pulled you somewhere else entirely,
That is not a problem.
That is just what minds do,
Especially minds like ours.
If you can come back,
You can always come back,
Gently,
Without judgment.
You're back,
And that's enough.
Continue now,
Breathing at whatever pace feels natural.
Let the counting go.
Just breathe.
I want to speak something over you,
And I want to invite you to receive it,
Not to analyze it,
Not to debate whether it's true,
Just to allow it to land somewhere in you and rest there.
The God who made you,
The same God who knit together every neuron,
Every synapse,
Every beautifully complex pathway in your brain,
That God knows you fully,
Not partially,
Not with an asterisk,
Fully.
Let these words move through you now.
You do not have to believe them all the way.
Just allow them.
May I know that I am seen.
May I know that I am not a mistake.
May I know that I am the way my mind works.
It's not a character flaw.
It is a characteristic.
May I know that the way my mind works is not a character flaw.
It's a characteristic.
May I be patient with myself today,
The way God is patient with me.
Now,
If there is someone in your life who also carries a heavy load,
Allow them to come to mind softly.
You do not need to fix anything for them.
Just hold them in awareness for a moment.
May they know they are seen.
May they rest today.
May they know that love is not something they have to earn.
Now,
Gently,
Bring that same compassion back to yourself.
The compassion you just offered outward,
You are allowed to receive it too.
Let us move now through the body,
Not to fix anything,
Not to find what is tense or wrong,
Just to visit,
Just to notice.
Bring your awareness to the very top of your head,
The crown.
This is the mind that races,
That makes connections others miss,
That holds 17 tabs open at once.
Breathe here.
Let this mind,
Your mind,
Be blessed.
Move your awareness down to your face,
Your jaw.
Let it soften just slightly.
Your eyes resting behind closed lids.
Breathe here.
Your throat,
Your chest,
Notice what is here.
Maybe tightness,
Maybe nothing.
Maybe a quiet sense of settling.
Whatever is here is allowed.
Your belly,
This is where anxiety often lives for many of us.
This is where the day's worry collects.
Breathe into this space.
You are safe right now.
In this moment,
You are safe.
Your arms,
Your hands,
These hands that do so much,
Often more than anyone sees.
Let them be still for just this moment.
You discern my going out and my lying down.
You are familiar with all my ways.
Psalm 139.
3 God is familiar with all your ways.
Not just your good days,
All of your ways.
He's familiar with your legs,
Your feet,
The places that pace.
They carry you from one thing to the next.
Let them rest here.
Let the ground hold you.
Your whole body,
Here,
Present,
Enough.
Let these words return to you now.
You have searched me,
Lord,
And you know me.
You have searched me,
Not glanced at me,
Not reviewed my file.
Searched me the way someone searches for something precious they do not want to lose.
And you know me.
That is not a threat.
That is a promise.
As you begin to return,
Letting your awareness come back to the room,
To the sounds around you,
To the gentle weight of your body,
Carry this with you.
You are not too much.
You are not too scattered,
Too forgetful,
Too intense,
Too difficult.
You are known.
You are held.
You are loved with a love that searched for you specifically and found you exactly here.
When you're ready,
Take one slow breath.
Gently open your eyes and go gently into your day.
In all you do,
Do it in love and be well.
