I know you're tired,
I know you're here because sleep feels far away,
Maybe you're worried it will never come,
Maybe you've tried everything and nothing is working.
And I promise,
Something deeper in you still remembers how to rest.
And you don't have to force it.
And what if sleep doesn't need to be the destination?
What if there is nothing to control in order to get there?
What if sleep is not something that you have to chase,
Or wait for,
But something that comes when you finally figure out how to let go of the outcome and stop trying?
Let's see what happens when we stop trying.
What if the thoughts didn't need to stop in order for you to rest?
What if they could keep moving softly like a dryer on the gentle cycle,
Turning softly in the next room,
Still going but no longer yours to tend to?
You can hear the slightly muffled sound,
But there's nothing for you to do just for now.
Just let them keep turning in the background while you stay here,
And let's see what happens when we follow the body instead,
Beginning to notice your breath just as it is,
No need to change it,
No deepening it just the way that it's arriving right now,
And observe how it moves,
Where it lands in your chest and belly,
And what spots soften as it exits,
And let yourself follow that just for a moment,
Noticing the breath as something that is already happening with no effort from you,
Let yourself fully land in each breath as you allow your limbs to get heavier and heavier,
And you're allowing your attention to come down from the mind to land in the jaw,
In your neck,
Your shoulders,
Let it drift into the chest and spill into the belly like slow honey moving softly through you,
And as that gravity is pulling you down it's inviting you in,
Letting the thoughts get quieter,
And notice what happens in your body when you don't respond to every single thought,
When you stop following the mind,
And instead continue to land softly,
Because sleep doesn't come when you tell it to,
It comes when you make room for it,
When you stop thinking about it,
And just make space in your body,
Let yourself invite it from the space of being softly in your body,
Coming down from the mind by letting your shoulders melt,
Let your hands release,
Let the hips drop deeper into the surface beneath you,
And notice how your spine is supported,
And that there's no need to hold anything,
Just allowing yourself to be held by the earth itself,
And as you allow yourself to rest,
You can feel how that stillness spreads,
Not as a destination,
But as a remembering,
As though it never left,
You just forgot it was there,
And with that remembering it's coming back,
You can let your body recall and embody what it already knows,
That this part of being human is not done with the mind,
It's done by descending down,
Deeper down into the body,
And the breath,
And the noticing,
And telling each part that it's okay to let go,
That you don't need to carry your entire day into the night,
Not even one part of it,
And the more deeply you land below the noise,
And each part of you remembers what it feels like to let go,
And feel supported,
You can begin to imagine this way of being,
Beginning to inform your waking hours,
When you realize that you get to decide to come down from the tightly wound loops in your mind,
To soften,
To feel heavy in your body,
To be supported,
And held,
Can you feel that,
This is remembering,
This way of being,
Of being inside you,
And it's holding you now,
So you can let the breath slow,
Let the mind wander,
And then soften,
Let yourself drop beneath it all,
And even if sleep doesn't come right away,
Your body is still resting,
Still receiving,
Still remembering,
And you're not behind,
You're not late,
Because this is the moment,
And you're in it already,
You're already there,
So let go of the notifications going off in your mind,
Let go of the endless loops,
And storylines,
Let go of the need for sleep to arrive,
And just land,
In this breath,
And then the next,
Realizing you are most in control,
When you stop needing to be,
To slip beneath the surface of thought,
And into the rhythm of your body's internal systems,
That rhythm that's always known how to sleep,
You just needed to get out of the way,
To let the sleep move through you,
Let it wrap around you like a warm current,
Let it guide you down,
Down from the mind,
And if you drift,
You drift,
And if you don't,
You're still resting,
And it's all welcome here,
Because this moment is not about the destination,
It's about deep allowing,
And the more you allow,
The more easily sleep can encapsulate you,
And it will,
And you know that it always does,
When you stop trying,
And start remembering.
