Hello and welcome.
Let your body find a shape it can hold for a few minutes with very little effort.
Upright in a chair,
Stretched out on a bed.
Whichever is kinder to you today.
Spend a moment improving it.
Ease your jaw,
Let your shoulders drop back and down,
Let your weight sink into whatever is under you.
Changing your mind about any of this is allowed the whole way through.
Let your hands come to rest,
In your lap,
Along your thighs,
Or anywhere they can stay warm and still.
Now your eyes.
Closing them is welcome,
So is leaving them open,
With your gaze resting a little way in front of you.
Either choice holds up for the whole practice.
Feel where you're being held,
The seat or the mattress beneath you,
The back of you against whatever you're leaning on.
Your feet if they're meeting the floor.
That contact is here for as long as the track lasts.
Whenever you want something steady,
It's already underneath you.
Let a single breath move through you at whatever speed it likes.
Your body takes it by itself and you're here alongside.
Before we turn toward feeling unseen,
Here's the plan.
We'll let one ordinary wish be here.
Give you something steady through your own hand and find one small kindness within reach today.
All of it is an invitation and you can turn down any part.
If this gets uncomfortable at any point,
Step away from my voice and put your attention on what's holding your body.
Staying with that is all this asks of you.
A different day is also fine.
Something may have happened today that left you feeling passed over.
A conversation that went by you.
A quiet day.
A message you sent that came back with three words.
Let it stay in outline.
The details can wait outside this practice.
Underneath that outline there is usually a wish,
The wish to be known by somebody.
To have your week understood by a person who is paying attention.
That wish is one of the most ordinary things a human being carries.
See whether you can let the wish be here without explaining it.
It has permission to be here at full size.
Let this one be allowed for the next few minutes.
You can leave it exactly as it is while it's here.
Keep one part of your attention on the support beneath you while the wish is present.
If it appeals to you,
Let one hand come to rest somewhere on yourself,
The middle of your chest,
Or the opposite forearm,
Or across your own upper arm.
Let the hand be heavy,
And warm,
And still.
Skipping this is completely fine,
And your hands can stay exactly where they are.
Whatever is happening under that hand,
Let it happen at its own pace.
Some people notice warmth,
Some notice a change in their breathing.
Some notice very little,
And that is a perfectly ordinary result.
Your job is to keep the hand there and let the moment stay simple.
The steadiness in your own hand is company you can give yourself right now in this room.
Other people stay part of your life and this is here for the hours in between.
Now let one small kindness come to mind,
Something available in the next hour.
It could be warm water,
Five minutes outside,
Or a message to somebody you trust.
Let those possibilities stay here for a moment.
Choose the one that seems easiest to actually do.
Easy is the only thing that matters here.
Give the kindness a real place in the next hour.
Decide quietly when it can happen and let that simple decision be enough.
There is one sentence to place beside the wish.
Say it once inside your own mind if it fits.
Wanting to be seen makes sense and I can be gentle with myself while I want it.
Let the words rest for a while.
Your hand,
The support beneath you,
And the wish can all stay present together.
Keep your hand where it is for one more breath,
If that still feels comfortable.
The practice asks for no further answer.
The kindness has a place in the next hour and you can decide again when the time comes.
The feeling may come back later today.
When it does,
Find where your body is being held and let your hand come to rest.
The small kindness you chose is waiting for you when this ends.
We can let the practice go now.
Let the room come back around you.
Let your breath deepen if it wants to.
Curl and uncurl your fingers.
Do the same with your toes.
Let closed eyes open when they're ready.
Let a soft gaze widen until the whole room is back.
Take care of yourself.
