Close your eyes.
Now get into a position that is most comfortable for you.
Whether it is lying down,
Sitting in a chair,
Or sitting or kneeling on the floor.
Take a slow deep breath in through your nose,
Then out through your mouth.
Continue with these relaxing breaths throughout this guided meditation.
Now picture yourself walking barefoot at twilight,
Up a cool mossy hillside.
The soft touch of the moss and earth against your feet serves an incredible sense of freedom within you.
You feel released from the bondage of traveling on this life journey in what has felt like cement shoes.
In this moment,
Your bare souls are absorbing energy from the earth,
And your spirit becomes aligned with nature.
You feel weightless and unleashed.
This is your momentary escape from the disorder and busyness of life.
You have longed for this walk.
This path you're on will lead you to your destination,
But it is barely visible in the fading sunlight.
Even so,
It is well trodden and familiar enough that you will find your way even when darkness sets in.
To your left is the western sky in all its glory,
Painted with faint swirls of pink and purple,
Which showcase the horizon.
As you continue walking,
You approach the hill's peak and finally reach your ultimate destination.
It's your private sanctuary,
A secluded cliff above a rock quarry that holds a breathtaking view.
The view of a small but brilliant mountain range that sits about five miles across the valley.
You take a front row seat on a giant rock just so you can face these mountains,
And you are in awe of this production of beauty before you.
Majestic mountain caps reaching skyward under a cascading blanket of twilight.
Shadowy birds flitting between the trees down in the quarry,
Occasionally diving at dancing minnows and insects on the surface of a shallow pond.
This scene begins to ignite a spiritual awakening within you.
The sky,
The earth,
The mountains,
The valley,
And all the creatures captured within.
Serve as a reminder of the vastness of the universe and of the mystery and greatness standing before you.
The greatness makes you feel lesser and small at first,
But as you become more centered,
It serves as a reminder of your significance.
It calls out to your heart that you are part of this greatness,
That you are just as beautiful and complex as your surroundings.
For you too are a magnificent mystery.
You are eternally connected to the universe.
As you continue to reflect,
A soft layer of darkness transforms twilight into dusk,
And imaginary curtains are pulled back on the earth's stage to bring on the night.
The night then becomes a conductor whose dark veil signals to nature that it is time to begin its nocturnal symphony.
The spring peepers and bullfrogs commence its performance with chirps and bellows that create a sweet chorus.
The whippoorwill chums in with her delicate soprano call,
Followed by cicadas playing their leg instruments from the rhythm section of the treetops.
And now the final shadows of dusk begin to fade as they blend into the dark caresses of the night.
You are only illuminated by the soft natural light of winking stars and the fluorescent crescent moon.
It is magical.
Standing amidst this beauty,
You discover that the ugliness that often shows through in the world is mostly an illusion.
Underneath the world's ugly surface is always a beautiful core.
You know for certain from this captivating scene that there are still slivers of hope for the weary world you have momentarily left behind.
Your heart feels unbounded now,
So with outstretched arms you reach towards the night sky and release all your anguish,
Which is immediately replenished with joy.
Here you are free to unleash and to speak,
Laugh,
Sing,
Pray,
Even shout.
So you now let the echoes of your voice bounce off the cavernous walls,
Then softly melt away into the stillness of the night.
In this gentle silence,
Three falling stars discreetly dive behind the shadowy mountaintops.
They seem to shower the universe with gifts of healing,
Hope,
And love.
The shutters of your soul finally open,
And you are replenished,
Rejuvenated,
Reborn.
The curtain then closes on Earth's stage.
You have become fully energized,
And now the twilight walk you so longed for is done.
Finished until the next time your bare feet and your stressed body get the urge to come back.
Breathe.
Go forth and embrace the weary world with your energy and light,
And come back to this place again,
Barefoot at twilight with an open heart.
Come back very soon.
