Steven Webb:
00:00:02
Hi, I'm Steven Webb and welcome to this lovely meditation. For the one who carries.
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The carer, the parent, the partner, a friend or the quiet person that everyone leans on.
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For these few minutes, we set the weight down, turn kindness back towards ourselves and offer three
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simple phrases. May I be held. May I be soft. May I rest.
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So let's begin.
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When you're ready, just find a position that makes you feel supported and held.
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And let your weight rest on whatever is holding you.
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Whether it is the chair, the bed, or a cushion on the floor.
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And just let your shoulder soften just a little.
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We do not need to do anything with the body or the breath. We simply become aware.
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And as you become aware of your breath now,
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just acknowledge that your body knows how to breathe. Your
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body knows how to relax.
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And we just invite and allow these things to happen in this moment.
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And you may notice the sounds in the room. And do it without needing to name any of them.
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Recognise that they come and go.
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Same with my voice and the same with the gaps between my words.
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And we are here now.
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And while you're settling in, just a little bit of understanding what it means to carry. Many
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of us are carrying something.
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Whether it's ourselves, a parent, a child, a partner who may be just tired, a
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friend who rings us late at night or at the wrong times. We
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carry because we love and because we care deeply and because it is who we are.
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And
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that is just a simple truth.
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But there is a difference between loving someone and being the one who holds them every day.
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And if we're honest, sometimes we may grieve for the life we do not have because we're busy
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carrying and holding someone else's.
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And with the grief, sometimes guilt comes and or perhaps resentment.
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These are not a failure. These are just being human. They arrive when holding has gone on too
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long without a break sometimes.
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We do not need to pile them on top of the load
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They are just other things we are carrying.
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And we're going to let them rest too.
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And you know, the one who cares for others needs caring for too.
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And often the only one near enough is us.
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So for these few minutes we turn the kindness around.
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The people you love are safe enough. The world will keep turning. We
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are setting it down. Not forever. Just now.
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Let us sit with this.
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Bring your attention into your hands.
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Feel them resting somewhere open or loose or curled. Just feel them.
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These are the hands that have done so much holding.
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They have held food, drinks and the phone late at night and a small hand of someone smaller.
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Notice them and let them soften here.
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Now bring your attention to your chest, the place where we carry without realising it sometimes.
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It might feel tight. It might feel just quiet. Sometimes it may feel a little resentment
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and maybe then guilt. But
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even that's okay we're not trying to change it we're just noticing.
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And just bring back your awareness to your breath. Breathing in calm. Breathing out relaxed.
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And together we're going to say three quiet phrases.
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And the first one is to ourselves. The one who has been carrying.
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So place your hand on your heart if it feels right.
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May I be held. May
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I be soft. May
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I rest.
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May I be held. May I be soft. May
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I rest.
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Now bring your mind to one of the people we carry. It may be the first person that come to
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your mind when I said the word carrying.
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We're not fixing anything for them.
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May you be held. May
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you be soft. And
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may you rest.
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And now gently we widen.
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There are so many of us all around the world,
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quietly holding someone.
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The carer no one sees. The parent up three in the morning. And
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the friend who answered the phone again.
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For all of us who are carrying in this moment.
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May we be held. May we be soft. May
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we rest.
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And just notice what is here now.
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The carrying is real. But maybe for a moment, the hand has softened around it.
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When you pick it up again in a little while, it may be the same weight.
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But this time you may carry it differently with
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a hand that is rested.
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Now I'm going to come back from five and
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we're just going to return to the room. So five, gently become aware of the room you're in. Four, open
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your eyes. Three, just move your arms, wiggle your fingers to just look around.
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And one, take a deeper breath.
Steven Webb:
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Thank you for sitting with me today.
