Settle in now,
There is nowhere else you need to be,
Nothing waiting,
Nothing required.
As you rest here,
You may begin to notice the darkness around you.
Lightly,
Not heavy,
But soft,
Like velvet evening air folded gently around your body.
The kind of darkness that protects,
The kind that whispers,
You are safe.
And somewhere within that quiet,
A single golden light appears,
Just one,
A firefly.
It blinks once,
Then rests,
And as your breathing naturally slows,
Another appears.
And another,
Tiny lanterns drifting through the night,
As if the stars themselves have wandered down to greet you.
You don't need to follow them yet,
Simply notice how their glow feels,
Warmly familiar.
They recognize you,
As if they've always known you.
With every slow breath out,
Your body sinks in a little deeper,
Deeper into the bed,
Deeper into the moment,
Deeper into ease.
The fireflies begin to move forward now,
Unhurried,
Unbothered.
They travel at exactly the right pace,
The pace your body prefers,
The pace your mind can soften into,
And you may find yourself standing now,
Or perhaps floating,
On a gentle path beneath you.
The earth is warm,
As though it's been holding sunlight all day,
Saving it,
Just for this moment,
Just for you.
Soft moss,
Quiet soil,
Something ancient,
Something kind.
The fireflies blink,
In a soothing rhythm,
On,
Off,
A rhythm you don't have to copy,
Because your breath is already matching it,
All on its own,
On,
Off,
And each time one lights up,
Something inside you loosens,
A thought drifts away,
A worry grows quieter.
You don't need to decide what leaves,
The fireflies already know.
One drifts closer,
Hovering near your heart.
Its glow brightens even more,
Not sharp,
Not loud,
Just warm.
Within that light is something you've been carrying,
A question,
A concern,
A heaviness you've grown tired of holding,
Then gently disappears into a golden dust.
The dust falls softly to the earth,
Becoming part of the earth again.
Nothing lost,
Nothing wrong.
Even more fireflies gather now,
Not just above you,
But around you,
A quiet constellation made just for this moment,
And the spaces between the blinks stretch wider,
Slower.
Your breath becomes so quiet it almost disappears,
You may notice the path beginning to slope downward,
Not steep,
Not sudden,
Just enough to suggest rest.
Each step requires less effort than the last,
Until walking becomes drifting,
And drifting becomes being carried.
The fireflies dim,
One by one,
Ahead is a clearing,
Or perhaps simply a place where nothing is asked of you at all.
The earth rises gently to meet your body,
Warm,
Soft,
Perfectly shaped,
As if the world remembers you.
Above you a few fireflies remain,
Blinking very slowly now,
You don't need to listen closely anymore,
You don't need to follow the story.
Your dreaming mind already knows the way,
The fireflies will keep watch.
The path continues without effort,
Softer,
Quieter.
