Tonight,
You get to fall asleep with warm honey melting every knot out of your neck.
Your jaw.
And your shoulders from the crown of your head all the way down to your toes.
Hi,
My friend.
My name is Jacob.
And I'm right here with you tonight.
You've done enough for today.
Truly,
It is enough.
So let your head sink into the pillow and leave the rest to me.
Let the night take the weight now.
Just remember.
I'll keep watch.
Wherever you're lying right now.
Let it hold you.
The bed,
The couch,
Whatever's underneath you has been waiting all day to take your weight.
And it's strong enough for all of it.
You've carried a lot since this morning.
Some of it was easy to see.
Like the long list.
The hard conversation.
And the hours at a screen.
And some of it you probably didn't notice at all.
Because your body handled it for you.
It braced when your phone buzzed.
It tightened when you rushed to be somewhere on time.
Or when you lay here a few minutes ago replaying the day.
That's what bodies do.
Build a little armor around us and hold it up for hours without ever asking for thanks.
So before anything else,
I want to thank it.
Thank you,
Shoulders.
Thank you,
Next.
Thank you,
Ja.
You have been so loyal today.
You can stand down now.
Let's start up at the very top of your head.
Imagine a small pool of honey resting right at your crown.
It's warm,
About the temperature of a mug you've been holding in both hands.
And it glows that deep amber color honey gets when lamp light shines through the jar.
Just notice the warmth sitting there,
Heavy and sweet.
And now,
It begins to move.
It spreads across your scalp the way honey does.
Taking its time.
Finding every little space.
Down over your forehead it goes.
And the lines there smooth out beneath it.
It pools for a moment between your eyebrows.
And spills over your eyelids.
And your eyes grow heavy under the weight of it.
Your temples soften.
The tiny muscles around your eyes.
The ones that squint and focus all day long.
Let go one after another.
There's no hurry here.
Honey has never been in a hurry in its whole life.
You now.
I think a lot of us walk around believing our tension means we're doing something wrong.
That if we were calmer or better at relaxing.
Our jaws wouldn't clench.
And our shoulders wouldn't creep up toward our ears.
I see it a little differently.
I think your body's been trying to protect you.
Every time it tightened today.
It was saying,
I've got you.
I'll hold this so you don't have to.
That's love in its own clumsy way.
The day is over now,
Though.
There's nothing left out there to brace against.
The doors are shut.
The lights are low.
And I'm keeping watch.
Your body can finally hand the armor over to me.
Feel the honey reaching your cheeks now warm and happy.
Sinking into the hinge of your jaw.
Right there in front of your ears.
Let it fill that hence.
And as it does.
Let your back teeth drift apart.
Just a little.
Just enough for a sliver of space between them.
Your lips can stay softly closed.
Your tongue can come down from the roof of your mouth and rest.
Loose and heavy.
Behind your bottom teeth.
That little space between your teeth is where the honey settles.
It's warm there.
And your jaw.
The most faithful guard of all.
The one that held on through every single thing today.
Gets to open its hands and rest.
If you notice it tightening again.
That's okay.
It's an old habit.
And it means well.
Let the honey find it.
And let your teeth part again.
I'll remind you as many times as you need.
Now the honey pours down the back of your head and into your neck.
Your neck has held your head up all day.
Through every conversation.
Every meal.
Every moment you leaned in toward a screen.
That's a heavy thing to carry.
And it never once got to put it down.
So feel the honey wrapping around it now.
Slipping down both sides like a warm scarf.
Feeling the long muscles that run from the base of your skull toward your shoulders.
Let your head get heavier.
Let the pillow take all of it.
Something underneath you is holding your head up now.
So your neck can finally rest.
Right at the base of your skull.
Where your neck meets your head.
There's a little knot most of us carry without knowing it.
Let the honey rest there for a breath.
Feel it soften.
The way butter softens on warm toast.
Until all that's left is a warm place.
From your neck.
The honey spills out across the tops of your shoulders.
These are the big muscles.
The ones that climb toward your ears whenever life feels like too much.
Feel how heavy the honey is as it spreads across them.
It presses them down,
Away from your ears.
And they let themselves be pressed.
The space between your shoulder blades widens.
Your collarbones open.
Breathe in.
And feel the warmth gather across your shoulders.
Breathe out.
And feel them sink a little further into the bed.
One more time.
In.
All that warm weight gathering.
And out.
Sinking.
You're doing so well.
And you don't even have to try to do it well.
Which is the nice thing about this part of the night.
There's nothing to get right.
I want you to know.
I've got the watch tonight.
Whatever needs guarding.
I'll guard it.
Whatever needs remembering will still be there in the morning.
And you'll meet it then with a rested body and a softer jaw.
For now.
Nobody needs protecting.
And nothing needs holding up.
Let me carry that part for a while.
The honey keeps moving.
And you can follow it down.
Along your upper arms.
And over your elbows it slides.
And when it reaches your hand.
Their fingers uncurl on their own.
Warm and loose,
Palms open.
Your chest fills with it next.
And your breath deepens without you asking it to.
Then,
Your belly.
Which softens and rises and falls like something already asleep.
Down the length of your back it pours.
Finding every place along your spine where you've been holding yourself upright.
And each one lets go and melts into the bed.
When it reaches your hips.
Pacing.
The warmth slides down your thighs.
Over your knees.
Into your calves.
And your legs feel so heavy now.
As if they walked a very long way to get here.
And finally,
It finds your feet.
Curling around your ankles and over the tops of your feet.
And into every toe.
Until the honey pools at the very bottom of you.
Warm and still.
From the crown of your head.
All the way down to your toes.
You're wrapped in it now.
Every guard has come down off the wall.
Here's something for the rest of the night.
The honey stays when you fall asleep.
It settles into your jaw and your neck.
And your shoulders.
And waits there.
Warm.
For as long as you're sleeping.
So if sometime in the middle of the night your jaw starts to tighten,
Or your shoulders start to climb.
The honey will already be there.
It'll find that spot before you even wait.
And your teeth will drift apart again.
And your shoulders will sing.
And you'll sleep right through it.
Your body will remember this.
It already does.
And in the morning.
You might notice your jaw feels a little lighter than it has in a while.
And your neck turns a little easier.
That's the honey too.
You can let my words turn into sound now.
Just the low murmur of someone nearby who's keeping watch while you sleep.
I'm right here.
The armor's down.
The night is warm and long.
And it's all yours.
Sleep well,
My friend.
