Dear friends,
Welcome to this reflection for the end of the day.
Let's begin by bringing yourself to a place of calm,
Where we can begin to relax after the hustle and bustle,
After the busyness of the day.
You might find it helpful to close your eyes,
But if you feel more comfortable with your eyes open,
That is fine.
Begin by becoming aware of your breath,
The simple act of your breathing in and your breathing out.
There's no need to make any change to your breathing pattern,
Just notice and pay attention to your normal breathing.
And each time you breathe in,
Reflect on the wonderful fact that you are,
Without even thinking of it,
Breathing in the good air that keeps us all alive.
Breathing in,
I am aware that I'm breathing in.
And as you breathe out,
See if you can,
Breath by breath,
Release any tension that you might be feeling in your body or in your mind.
For example,
You might notice tension in your shoulders.
If so,
Crunch up your shoulders and then relax them completely.
Notice the difference.
Sometimes we can hold attention in our faces and in our jaws.
If that is the case with you just now,
It might be helpful to deliberately create a big yawn and bring your face to a place of relaxation.
One big yawn,
As if you are so tired.
At the end of the day we can find our minds racing,
Playing over and over again the events of the day,
Our minds still not recovered from all the activities and the conversations of the day.
If you find your mind racing,
Try to imagine these thoughts as clouds passing in the sky.
Just let them pass,
Let them be.
You have reached the end of the day and it's time now for rest.
I'm going to light a candle now for your intentions.
This candle is lit for each one listening,
As if you are the only person who has ever heard this reflection.
This candle is lighting for you.
Let's have a one minute pause now.
Welcome back.
We give thanks for the fact that,
Arising from circumstances entirely beyond your control,
You were given the gift of this new day.
Each day presents us all with so many opportunities to make a difference.
We don't give ourselves credit for all these little acts of kindness that we manage to perform each and every day.
All the kind words,
The helping hand,
The listening ear,
Holding a door open,
Allowing someone to go first,
Offering a kind smile,
All these simple everyday actions.
Until we stop and reflect,
We will have no idea of all the help that might have been offered to people we met during the day.
We may not realise the benefit that someone has received simply by reason of the fact that we have lived today.
So we give thanks for this day and for all those little actions that might have been a benefit to others.
In looking back over the events of the day,
It is important to remind ourselves that we are only human.
We are not angels,
We are not saints,
We are ordinary people on the road of life.
And no doubt some darker elements crept in.
The unkind word said,
The helpful word left unsaid,
The missed opportunity,
You know how it goes.
As we reflect at the end of the day,
We can feel pain for our failures,
But we mustn't allow these little failures to drag us down.
We know how it feels to do good.
We know how it feels when we fail to live up to our higher ideals.
This evening is our opportunity to resolve to set out tomorrow to do a little better.
We've done our best and now it's time to rest.
Why?
So that restored by the gift of sleep,
We can set out tomorrow to make a little difference.
Let's have a one minute pause now.
Welcome back.
Hopefully we will,
Most of the time,
Find it easy to fall asleep.
But if sleep comes with difficulty,
The important thing is to remember that rest is what is needed.
If we concentrate on the need to actually sleep,
We can find it more difficult to get to sleep.
So in any of these moments of sleeplessness,
It's helpful to give thanks for some of the benefits of our lives.
Even in the most difficult situation,
We realise that we have so many things to be thankful for.
If we give thanks one by one for each of our many benefits,
We will find restful sleep will overcome our wakefulness and before we know it,
Morning will come,
Bringing us the gift of yet another new day.
Next some evening wishes for you,
After which I will allow the music to continue to lead you into a restful night.
May you be well.
May you be at peace.
May you be healthy in mind and body.
May you be grateful for all you have.
May you enjoy,
Tonight,
The gift of restful sleep.
May you awake with joy to the happiness and opportunity of each new day.
May you find opportunities to bring the gift of your life to the world.
Namaste.
