Find a comfortable position and allow yourself to rest.
Spend a moment settling your body.
Allowing the floor or the chair that you're resting on to take your weight because you do not need to carry it right now.
Take a deep breath.
Breathing in the courage to see things clearly.
And breathing out rejection,
Fear,
And anxiety.
One more breath in of courage and clarity.
And a breath out,
Releasing these negative emotions that do not serve you.
When you are ready,
Imagine yourself standing at a gate in front of a beautiful garden.
The scents and sounds of this garden beckon to you,
Welcoming you inward.
You feel very comfortable here.
You open the gate and step through into the space beyond.
Immediately,
The world outside the garden quiets.
You hear the birds chirping in the trees,
And you smell the sweet flowers on the breeze.
Walking on the path,
You see many familiar flowers and plants.
These plants represent the qualities that you have learned to cultivate and tend over the years.
You notice that the plants are all healthy and everything here is in peak bloom.
Can you recognize the plants as you pass them?
Perhaps you pass the plant for helpfulness.
The Flower for Politeness.
The plant for positivity.
The tree for compassion.
And as you move further into the garden.
You notice a section where the path is a bit more uneven.
A cloud drifts across the sun,
Darkening this portion of the garden.
As you step onto this untended path.
You notice that there are different plants than you have seen yet in the garden.
Perhaps they are a bit wilder or not as well tended.
Perhaps they are stunted or even wilted,
Not growing as well as some others.
Perhaps there are flowers,
While beautiful,
That are unfamiliar to you.
Maybe you notice the plant for assertiveness or the plant for competitiveness.
What about the plant for need or the plant for honesty?
Walking through the garden,
You realize these plants have a place,
Just the same as the plants you tend often.
You choose one plant from this uncared for section to tend.
Perhaps you cut away the dry leaves from the base.
Perhaps you offer a bit of water to the roots.
Just because you choose to tend this plant does not mean that it needs to become as large,
Vigorous,
Or prominent as the plants near the entrance.
You can still tend a plant while keeping it small and manageable.
Repeat to yourself.
All parts of me are valid.
All parts of me deserve my care and attention.
As you offer just a bit more of your care and energy to the plants in this section.
Feel the plant's gratitude.
Remind it that it belongs here.
And that you will return again to tend it.
As you rise from the ground and dust your hands,
The sky begins to brighten and a beam of afternoon sunlight shines down on the plants in this neglected section of your garden.
You bid the plants farewell and return to the main path.
You notice that the well-cultivated plants are thriving even more than they were previously.
By tending the parts of your personality that you have previously pushed away.
You have allowed every part of you to shine a little bit brighter.
Smiling,
You depart through the garden gate,
Knowing that you are welcome here at any time to tend this garden.
Repeat again to yourself.
All parts of me are valid.
All parts of me deserve my care and attention.
Begin welcoming small movements back into your hands and feet.
Offer yourself a moment of gratitude for taking the time to journey to your inner world and learn a little bit more about yourself.
Perhaps you choose to give yourself a small hug of appreciation or offer yourself an inner smile.
Perhaps you choose to repeat the affirmation again.
All parts of me.
Are valid.
All parts of me deserve my care and attention.
When you are ready,
You may open your eyes and return to the present moment.
