Welcome,
I'm Teresa,
And if you're here,
There's a good chance you've been holding a lot.
Caring about people,
About the world,
About what's happening around you.
And over time,
That caring can begin to feel heavy.
You may notice yourself carrying the mood of a room,
The emotions of people you love,
The weight of things you've seen or heard.
Not because you're doing something wrong,
But because your nervous system is responsive,
Attuned,
Open,
Connected.
And even an open,
Caring system needs moments where it is not holding everything at once.
Let's begin by noticing the body.
Feel your feet.
If they're on the floor,
You might gently press them down,
Just enough to feel the ground meeting you.
The body often settles when it remembers the ground is still here.
Take a slow breath in,
And let the exhale be just a little longer.
No need to force it,
Just allowing a small shift.
Many people learned,
Often without realizing it,
That caring meant carrying,
That to love something meant to hold it completely.
But caring and carrying are not the same.
Caring can include presence without requiring you to take everything in.
See if you can imagine a soft boundary around your body,
Not a wall,
More like the surface of water.
Things can touch it,
Move across it,
Without sinking all the way in.
And let that image settle for a moment,
And notice your body again.
The shoulders may soften slightly.
The jaw might unclench.
The breath may move a little more freely.
You are allowed to care without collapsing.
You are allowed to witness without absorbing.
And you are allowed to remain connected without disappearing from yourself.
If it feels supportive,
You might place a hand on your chest or your belly.
Let your body feel that contact.
A quiet reminder,
I am here too.
Not just what you're noticing.
Not just what others are feeling.
You.
For the next few breaths,
Imagine gently releasing anything that does not belong entirely to you.
Not pushing it away.
Just letting it settle outside of your body.
You might quietly say,
I release what is not mine to carry.
Or simply feel the difference between holding and allowing space.
Stay here for a few moments.
Even in a complicated world,
Small moments of regulation matter.
Your nervous system doesn't need everything to be resolved in order to soften.
It simply needs moments of support.
Moments where it can rest without losing connection.
Take one more slow breath.
And gently begin to notice the space around you again.
The sounds.
The air.
The steady presence of your body.
You don't have to carry everything to care about it.
If this meditation supported you,
You're very welcome to explore my course,
Grief,
Beauty and Belonging.
In that course,
We gently explore how to stay connected to the world without losing yourself inside it.
You're welcome there whenever it feels right.
And as you return to your day,
Remember as always,
You are loved.
You are whole.
You are enough.
