Find a comfortable position,
Either seated or lying down.
You can close your eyes or soften your gaze downward.
Take a moment to simply arrive here.
This is your time.
Let's begin with three deep breaths together.
Breathe in slowly through your nose and out through your mouth.
Again in and out.
One more time,
Breathing in and releasing.
With each exhale,
Let your shoulders drop.
Let your jaw unclench.
Let your body settle into this moment.
I want you to notice how you're feeling right now without trying to change it.
Whatever you brought here today,
The exhaustion,
The tension,
The doubt,
It's welcome here.
All of you is welcome here.
Many of us walk through life carrying a story,
A story that says we should be further along by now.
That we should be stronger,
More successful,
More put together.
That if people really knew us,
Our struggles,
Our fears,
Our failures,
They'd see that we're somehow less than,
Broken.
Maybe you felt this.
That quiet shame that says you're not measuring up.
The perfectionist voice that keeps moving the goalpost.
The inner critic that catalogues every mistake.
Every moment you weren't enough.
Take a moment right now to acknowledge that voice.
You don't have to push it away.
Just notice it.
Notice what it sounds like.
What it says.
Where you feel it in your body.
This voice has been with you a long time and I want you to know you're not alone in hearing it.
Now,
I want to offer you a different possibility.
What if the struggle itself isn't proof that you're broken?
What if wrestling with doubt,
Facing your imperfections,
Questioning yourself.
What if these aren't signs of failure?
What if they're signs of your depth?
Your courage.
Your willingness to look at yourself honestly instead of hiding behind a mask.
A broken thing cannot grow.
But you can.
You have.
Even when you couldn't see it.
Even when you were barely surviving.
You were also adapting.
Learning.
Becoming.
Every man who has ever done anything meaningful has also failed.
Has also felt inadequate.
Has also wondered if he was enough.
The difference isn't that some men are broken and others aren't.
The difference is that some men have learned to meet themselves with compassion instead of contempt.
Take a breath into that.
You're not broken.
You're human.
And your humanity,
All of it,
Even the messy parts,
Is not something to fix.
It's something to know.
To honour.
Place your hand on your chest now.
Right over your heart.
Feel the warmth of your own hand.
Feel your heartbeat underneath.
This heart has carried you through every difficult moment of your life.
This body has shown up,
Day after day,
Even when you didn't want it to.
Even when you felt like giving up.
It's still here.
You're still here.
Let's say a few things together,
Silently or out loud.
Let these words land wherever they need to.
I am not broken.
I am human.
Breathe that in.
My struggles do not diminish my worth.
I am allowed to be imperfect and still be enough.
Notice any resistance.
Notice any softening.
Both are okay.
There's no right way to feel.
You don't have to be perfect to be worthy of love.
Including your own.
You don't have to have it all figured out to deserve respect.
Including your own.
You don't have to hide your humanity to be accepted.
Especially by yourself.
Think of one thing you've been harsh with yourself about lately.
Maybe it's a mistake you made.
A goal you didn't reach.
A way you showed up that didn't feel good enough.
Got it?
Now imagine a younger version of yourself.
Maybe seven or eight years old.
Came to you with that same struggle.
Picture him.
What would you say to him?
How would you speak to that boy?
Would you call him broken?
Would you list his failures?
Or would you see his effort,
His tender heart,
His genuine attempt to do his best?
Offer yourself that same kindness now.
Speak to yourself the way you'd speak to that child.
Because that child is still in you.
And he's been waiting a long time to hear that he's okay just as he is.
As we close,
Take three more deep breaths with me.
Breathe in acceptance and release judgment.
Breathe in compassion and release shame.
Breathe in your wholeness and release the story that you're broken.
You are not a project to be fixed.
You are a person to be known.
To be met with understanding.
The work isn't to become someone else.
The work is to stop abandoning yourself.
To stop waiting until you're enough.
Enough to finally treat yourself with dignity.
You are not broken.
You never were.
And you can return to this truth as many times as you need to.
When you're ready,
Gently open your eyes.
If this meditation resonated with you,
There's deeper work we can do together.
Explore more guided practices on my profile.
Learn about shadow work.
The path forward begins with self-acceptance.
You've taken the first step today.
Welcome home to yourself.
