For when your mind is full and both hands are already carrying too much. You don't need to empty it. Just find a little more room.
About 12 minutes with Steven Webb's calm voice and music underneath.
We start at your front door with your hands full of bags and boxes, each one something asking for your attention. Out into a crowded, noisy world that feels a bit like your mind, then onto a path into the countryside and a wide clearing. There you put things down one at a time and let the ground carry them for a while. Rest is not laziness. On the way back you only pick up what you need for the next small part of the day. You're not failing at meditation. You may simply be at capacity.
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Thank you for sitting with me.
Steven
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The transcript
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Welcome.
I'm Steven Webb.
And this meditation is for those moments when your mind is completely
full and when both hands are already carrying too much, and when
even meditation feels like just one more thing you have been
asked to do.
You do not need to empty your mind.
We are simply going to find a little more space around everything
else you're carrying.
So allow yourself to become comfortable.
Allow your body to settle into this moment.
You can close your eyes if you choose, or just soften your gaze.
A few feet in front of you.
You can feel the chair or the bed or the floor.
Just feel that you're being supported.
These few moments, just allow yourself to be held.
You don't have to do anything in this moment, just allowing your
body to relax, allowing your body to breathe.
Just simply notice when one breath arrives.
And your mind may still be remembering or planning or trying
to solve things.
That's okay.
Imagine yourself in a familiar and a safe place.
You're near the front door and you notice that your hands are full.
Perhaps you're holding bags or boxes, and each one represents something
asking for your attention.
It could be a responsibility, a worry, a decision that you have
to make.
You do not need to identify anything.
Just simply recognize that you're carrying a great deal.
And imagine the door opening.
You feel the outside air touching your face, and you begin
to move forward.
Moving forward whatever feels natural to you.
At first.
The world is crowded.
People are moving in different directions.
There is traffic, noise and conversation.
Everybody appears to want something.
And the outside world feels a bit like your mind, busy and crowded.
But we do not have to make any of that stop for the moment.
Just continue forward, one breath at a time.
And gradually, the crowd begins to thin.
There are fewer voices, a little less traffic, a little more
distance between you and everything else.
And ahead, you notice a path leading towards the countryside.
And as you walk onto it, the sounds of the busy world begin to
soften behind you.
They've not disappeared.
They just simply no longer feel quite so close.
And notice the colors around you.
The leaves on the trees, The earth and the grass, perhaps the
small flowers growing nearby.
The sky above feels larger.
You're still carrying the bags and the boxes.
Your responsibilities have not vanished.
But now there's a little more room around them, a little more room
around you.
Just ahead, there's a wide clearing, a peaceful open space surrounded
by countryside.
And as you move into the clearing and you allow yourself to
stop, there is nowhere else to reach.
You're now somewhere with enough room for you and everything
else you're feeling.
And notice again what you're carrying.
You do not need to throw it away.
You do not need to pretend it does not matter.
But perhaps, just for now, you can place it on the ground beside
you.
One thing at a time.
Let the ground carry it for a while.
You've carried it long enough today.
Feel your hands become a little lighter.
And your mind doesn't have to work on every problem at once.
Some things can wait.
Some things need to be shared.
Some things may not be yours to carry.
Just rest here in this open space.
Your thoughts are still here.
Your life is still here.
But there's space around it all.
Space between one thought and another.
Space between a problem and the need to solve it.
Space around this breath.
And just remind yourself, I do not have to carry everything at once.
I am allowed to put something down.
Rest is not laziness.
Making space is.
Is part of the practice.
So soon you will return, but you do not need to pick up every
bag again.
Choose only what you genuinely need for the next small part of the
day.
Not tomorrow, not next month.
So just carry for this one moment and begin moving back towards
the path.
And this clearing is always within you, just a few breaths away.
In any given moment, sometimes the space you will find will be very
small.
Just one breath, one pause.
And sometimes that's enough.
So begin to notice the room around you, the nearby sounds, the
surface supporting your body.
Notice your hands.
And before asking yourself to carry one more thing, recognize that
you're already holding something.
You're not lazy.
You're not failing at meditation or failing at your spiritual
practice.
You may simply be at capacity.
And very often compassion begins by allowing yourself to put
something down.
So now you're ready.
Just gently open your eyes and just take your time and carry only
what you need into the next moment.
Thank you for sitting with me today.
And all these meditations come to you free on the podcast because
people donate a coffee.
So thank you to all of them and if you like to know more or join
my weekly Calm newsletter, just head over to stephenweb.uk thank
