A Meditation For You

Life has a way of making us believe we should always be somewhere else. Maybe a little further along, more accomplished, more certain. Whatever season of life you're in, don't rush through it. Don't convince yourself you should already be somewhere else. And if the season you're in genuinely sucks, I feel that, and I'm sorry. I hope you take a moment, this moment, to be proud, because in the muck and haze, you are still showing up for yourself.

Before you move on to the next task, the next goal, or the next version of yourself, simply arrive.

When I first started practicing meditation, my teachers said that, and I thought, "Arrive? Where?" And then I felt bad, because I was thinking, and I wasn't supposed to be. So what does that mean? Arrive could be replaced with "return."

Arrive, or return, back in your body. Arrive, or return, back in the present moment. Arrive, or return, to your calm. Our attention is constantly divided, so give yourself permission to simply arrive.

Let's begin.

Turn your phone on Do Not Disturb.

Get comfortable wherever you are.

Let your shoulders drop away from your ears. Gently pull them down if you need to.

Unclench your jaw.

Notice where you're holding tension, and see if you can release a bit of It.

Take a slow breath in through your nose for four.

Hold for two.

Exhale for six.

One more time.

Inhale.

Hold.

Exhale.

Do this two more times, or as many as you need.

Let your breathing return to its natural rhythm.

As you sit here, notice that for this one moment...

You don't have to solve anything.

You don't have to fix anything.

You don't have to become a better version of yourself.

Just be here.

Notice the air on your skin.

The sounds around you.

The steady rhythm and warmth of your breath.

You are allowed to rest.

Not because you've earned it.

Simply because you're human.

You are doing enough.

And beneath everything you do,

You are already enough.

You don't have to earn love.

You are love and worthy of love exactly as you are.

May all the love you've poured into the world return to you in multitude.

If you find your mind drifting toward your worries, do not fight them, but gently bring your attention back to this moment.

Ask yourself: what is wrong right now?

Not the email waiting for a response.

Not the invoice that just arrived.

Not the conversation you're replaying.

Right now.

Pause.

Ask yourself again. What is wrong right now?

More often than not, you'll discover that your mind has wandered into the future or back into the past, while your body is here, safely breathing in this moment.

There is wisdom inside you that anxiety cannot access. The answers you're looking for rarely arrive when your mind is racing. They tend to surface when you create enough quiet and space to hear them.

Take one final deep breath in.

And a long, slow breath out.

Stay here as long as you need.

When you're ready...

Wiggle your fingers.

Stretch your arms wide like a bird expanding its wings before flight.

Roll your shoulders.

Carry this feeling with you, and return to it throughout your day.