0:00 Take a moment right where you are, and notice the weight of your feet resting against the floor.0:09 Good morning, baby.0:11 The early sun is still climbing across the porch rail out here, much like that quiet hour when we talked about letting the light find you where you sat.0:27 You don't have to carry it all before breakfast.0:32 Wherever your hands are resting right now, whether they're holding a warm cup or folded in your lap, let them be heavy and still.0:45 You made it to this chair, and that's plenty for right now.0:51 Let your breathing find its own easy pace, nice and slow.0:57 Draw the cool air in through your nose, letting it fill the belly all the way up.1:05 Then let it out soft through your lips, like steam coming off hot tea.1:13 Hmm-mm-mm… Nobody is grading your breath today.1:18 You don't have to measure it or force it to be deeper than it wants to be.1:25 Each breath is an unearned gift waiting on your doorstep.1:31 Inhale slowly, feeling your ribs widen and your collarbones lift.1:38 Exhale, and let the air go completely.1:42 Mm-hm.1:42 Sit with that a minute, honey.1:45 Your lungs know how to take care of you without any striving, without any hurry.1:54 Feel that gentle rise and fall, faithful as the river rolling past Memphis.2:01 Bring your attention up toward the crown of your head, and then let it slide down across your forehead.2:12 Unclench that tight little furrow between your eyebrows.2:18 Let your eyes rest easy in their sockets, not searching for the next task or the next worry.2:27 Loosen your jaw.2:29 Drop your tongue away from the roof of your mouth.2:34 Now let that softness travel right down into your neck, and down into your shoulders.2:43 Those shoulders have been hiking up toward your ears all week, bracing for things that haven't even happened yet.2:54 Let them drop an inch.2:56 Let them drop two inches.2:59 Feel the support of the wood or the fabric beneath your back.3:05 It has been holding you up the ENTIRE time.3:10 Notice your hands where they lie, your fingers curling softly, not grasping a single thing.3:19 Down into your chest, where your heart beats steady and patient, keeping time for you.3:28 Mmm-mm.3:29 Down through your hips, down through your knees, right down to the soles of your feet resting solid against the ground.3:41 Rest here in the quiet underneath all the noise in your mind.3:47 You might feel like you're starting this morning half-ready, with loose threads hanging everywhere.3:57 In thirty years of directing our little choir, I have seen folks show up with their voices raspy and their spirits worn thin as paper.4:11 They would stand there on the back row thinking they had to be polished before they stepped into the choir loft.4:23 I always tell them: the music doesn't ask for perfection, baby.4:29 The music asks for you to stand up and breathe out what is true.4:36 Mm-hm.4:36 Showing up tired, showing up unfinished, showing up with questions in your pocket...4:45 that's still showing up.4:48 That quiet faithfulness counts for more than all the grand performances in the world.4:56 There's a profound grace in ordinary presence.5:01 You don't need a single answer worked out to deserve this quiet space right here.5:09 Let the stillness wrap around you like a warm quilt.5:15 You're allowed to simply exist without producing anything.5:21 Gently, start to feel the cool morning air against your skin again.5:28 Give your fingers a little wiggle, soft and easy.5:33 Bring your hands over your heart if that feels comforting, feeling that steady thump beneath your palm.5:43 Mmm-mm.5:44 Here's what I want you to tuck into your pocket before you step out into the rush: your quiet, imperfect effort is MORE than enough today.5:58 You don't have to carry the whole mountain before noon.6:04 You don't have to prove anything to anyone.6:08 Go on, now, and let the day meet you kind.
