We are all holding so much right now.
Our fear,
Frustration,
Anxiety,
Confusion,
Anger,
Grief,
And overwhelm.
We are suffering.
What if we stopped running away from our suffering?
What if we stopped stuffing,
Avoiding,
And distracting ourselves from unwanted feelings and instead faced them together?
Take a few moments now to be with your breath and offer yourself some patient,
Compassionate,
Gentle attention.
Because yes,
You are holding a lot right now.
You want to just stop and acknowledge that and be kind to yourself.
And stay with your breath.
Not necessarily doing anything special,
But just noticing your breath and your body.
Letting the breath breathe itself.
And really holding on to the idea that you are not alone.
That you're part of a vast community of people who care.
Kind,
Compassionate people who,
Like you,
Want the world to be safe for everyone.
And who want to do their part to build a loved community.
Why don't you take that in?
Just feeling your breath,
Staying with it as it moves in and out of your body.
And letting yourself feel how deeply you are connected.
How much you belong.
You are connected to all of us and we are all connected to you.
And we're all holding so much right now.
It's really important to remind ourselves that we are not carrying it all alone.
All our hearts are breaking.
But maybe we can breathe our way forward together.
So as we begin,
Really come to an embodied,
Comfortable seated position.
So feel your feet firmly on the floor.
Press in your big toe,
Press in your heel.
Press in your pinky toe,
Really the four corners of your feet.
Feel them on the floor.
And settle your bottom on a chair,
Feeling the support.
And if your chair has a back,
Really press yourself into the back of the chair.
You really want to feel steady and solid as we begin our breath.
Bring your spine straight,
Square your shoulders,
Level your chin.
Just feel the strength and the stability of your own body.
And imagine as you breathe in,
That you are breathing with and for all the other people who are also suffering in this moment.
So this is a collective breath.
We're all breathing in together.
We're breathing with each other,
We're breathing for each other.
We're breathing with compassion.
We're breathing in for all the other people who are suffering in this moment.
So even if you feel a little bit uneasy,
It's okay,
We're doing it together.
Let yourself inhale and make space inside for what is uncomfortable and unwanted.
Really feel your belly feel.
Your sides will expand,
Your diaphragm lift.
You're really making space inside to hold the suffering.
But as you do it,
Remember that you're not doing it alone,
You're not holding it by yourself,
We're all holding it.
And right now,
Someone who also wants a better world is breathing and making space to hold your suffering.
We're breathing our way forward together.
And now exhale slowly and let it all go.
And with your out breath,
Visualize sending the warm energy of ease and peace out into the world.
Offering comfort to all who are suffering.
And again,
Know that right now,
Someone who wishes you happiness and freedom from suffering is also breathing and sending out the warm energy of ease and peace to comfort you.
We're breathing together.
So stay with your breath and at your own pace,
Stay steady in your body.
Go through a few more rounds of breath.
Breathing in,
Being with the suffering of all the people around the world and sending out comfort and ease and warm wishes for peace.
Feeling yourself part of a larger community,
Remembering that we are all in this together and that together we can breathe our way forward.
Stay with your breath.
Feeling the connection,
Feeling yourself supported.
Feeling your belonging and connection,
Taking in the suffering and sending out comfort and ease.
Caring for and letting yourself be cared for by our vast,
Compassionate community.
We are all holding so much right now.
May each of us help make the world a little lighter.
Namaste.
