Welcome to Grounded with Wendy.
Today we're going to be taking a trip to the ocean,
A really magical,
Sacred place.
We'll go straight into meditation today,
So please close your eyes if that feels comfortable and take a nice deep breath in and out.
Settle your bones.
Feel rooted and connected to the earth.
Soften your face and your shoulders.
Take a couple of cleansing breaths.
We're going to go to our imagination today.
So imagine you're standing barefoot on a quiet beach and the sun is really warm on your skin.
It's a beautiful day out and the steady rhythm of the waves are rolling in and out.
It's very soothing.
It's a timeless feeling.
Perhaps syncing your breath with the waves.
The incoming tide is the in-breath and the out-breath is the outgoing tide.
By your feet sits a small beach bucket.
It's light.
It's colorful.
Today we're going to fill it with our worries.
We're going to gather them one by one very gently,
Thoughtfully.
These are tensions you feel,
Burdens.
We're going to pick these up gently without judgment.
We are going to place regret,
Fear,
Any old stories you're carrying around with you,
Anything that you're worried about.
You're placing them gently inside the bucket.
There's room for everything in this bucket.
And I want you to invite with each deposit,
Invite the feeling that the bucket is growing heavier and you are becoming lighter.
This ritual feels really good to you.
You're placing all you need to let go of inside the bucket.
Now we're going to begin walking slowly towards the water.
As you get closer,
The sand feels a little bit cooler under your feet.
You feel that breeze on your face again,
The warmth on your shoulders,
And the weight of the bucket in your hand.
And you step into the shallows and the water races around your ankles.
This alive,
Crisp,
Welcoming,
Cooling water.
And with each breath,
You wade a little bit deeper.
You're completely safe.
And when you're ready,
Lower the bucket into the water.
Let the ocean take it.
And gently,
The churn and swirl of the water transforming everything inside that bucket.
And you can watch as the waves carry the contents away,
Dissolving them,
Cleansing them,
Releasing them.
You feel lighter.
You feel more clear,
Less burdened.
Now that you've emptied everything out,
You feel a little bit more spacious.
You feel lighter in your step.
Breathe into that space of levity and calm.
Into that space of possibility.
Let the ocean do what it always does so beautifully.
It receives,
It renews,
And it returns you to yourself.
And today's offering is that as you move through your day and the days ahead,
You may notice those worries and fears and old stories creep back into your life.
This is normal,
A natural part of being human.
But now you have a new practice,
A metaphor that lives in you.
So when life begins feeling heavy again,
Remember your beach bucket.
Picture yourself placing your worries piece by piece.
You know what to do.
You can walk to the shoreline,
Step into the water,
And release.
You can return to this any time.
The ocean is always there,
Steady,
Ready to receive what you no longer need to carry.
Let the ocean soften you.
You do not need to hold it all.
You are not alone.
You have a bucket and a sea and a choice again and again to continue to carry your bucket of trouble to the ocean.
Wishing you a beautiful day.
Thank you for meditating with me today.
