Wherever you are,
Rest here.
It is okay and you have done enough.
Wherever you are right now,
Take a moment to pause.
Let your hands rest in your lap.
Let your shoulders soften.
Let your tongue press gently against the roof of your mouth.
You are okay.
It is okay to land here,
Wherever life has placed you.
It is okay if you are exhausted.
It is okay if you feel lit up and vibrant and buzzing with life.
It is okay if you are thriving in a season where it feels as though the world is falling apart.
It is okay if you are doing what you can to just make it through this month.
Wherever you are is entirely valid.
Sometimes we try to judge a season while we are in it.
We wonder if what we are moving through is good or bad,
If we are doing a good enough job of facing what has been placed before us.
Life,
However,
Is not a test.
We are here and we are learning.
And there are so many different ways you can walk your path.
It is not uncommon to feel as though nothing we ever do is enough.
We can be doing the most,
Showing up for our loved ones,
Showing up for our work,
Taking care of our bodies,
And loving on the world,
And still feel as though we've come up short.
It seems there is always more for us to be doing.
There is always one more habit,
One more task,
One more thing we feel we should have gotten to before we give ourselves permission to rest.
If we are constantly falling short of our own expectations,
It is difficult for the body to relax.
It is difficult,
Then,
To be present with the small moments that actually matter the most.
The color of the sky on that particular Tuesday morning,
The sound your dog makes when she's most content,
The feel of your best friend's arms around you,
The private smile you share with your spouse,
The quiet home you've made for yourself here in the midst of it all.
I often think that presence is my love language.
If there is one thing I crave more than anything in the world,
It is for someone to just simply be present with me.
To sit with me,
To watch the sunset,
To watch the stars rise,
To hear my stories.
For me,
Maybe,
To do the same for them.
This is how I try to love my people.
Because I know,
For all the times you can spend with someone,
It matters little unless you are truly in the room.
People feel the weight of your presence.
They feel,
Too,
When you are absent,
When your thoughts have carried you far away,
When something else has captured your attention.
Wherever you are,
Rest here.
I think of the exhaustion that comes when we are always thinking,
When we are ruminating on an issue that we can't seem to find the bottom of.
Sometimes thinking is productive.
Our minds are a gift,
Our minds are a tool,
But many times we have forgotten how to use them.
If the mind is a tool,
Then,
Like a sword,
There are many ways to wield it.
There is a time and a place where it may be useful,
And there are many times where it may not be the most constructive choice.
Rest comes in the present moment.
It is not always passive.
But rather learning to rest in your life while you show up for what is being asked of you.
It is learning to set your doubt aside and follow your intuition,
Your heart,
Your instincts,
Before your mind has had a chance to run through every possible outcome.
Presence is its own form of rest.
Presence is a homecoming,
And allowing your soul to be present in your body as you move through this life.
Wherever you are,
Rest here.
It is okay,
And you have done enough.
You have done enough.
You will know when you are called to move again,
When it is time to stand up and take action.
For now,
Rest here.
For now,
Allow your chest to soften.
Allow the tension to unspool from the space between your shoulder blades.
Allow the breath to be calm.
It is okay,
And you have done enough.
Rest here in this quiet knowing.
