Loving-kindness toward difficult emotions: Be still

If you're restless and don't know what to do with yourself, stay where you are. Just be still, be quiet. Let the eagerness to do something cool down. Let the pull of the outside world release its grip on you. Just as the sediment in a bottle settles to the bottom, so will your emotions if you let them be still.

1. Wherever you are in this moment, stay there. Don't go anywhere. You are right where you need to be.
2. Bring your attention to your breath. Take three or four deep breaths. When you inhale, let it be deep. When you exhale, let the breath out slowly.
3. Now repeat the following phrases to yourself a few times. Every time you say the words, let them penetrate your restlessness.

• May I have courage.
• May I trust myself.
• May I have patience.
• May I be free from fear.

Remember, you are right where you need to be.

(Excerpt: The Gift of Loving-Kindness: 100 Meditations on Compassion, Generosity, & Forgiveness , written by Mary Brantley, MA, LMFT, and Tesilya Hanauer, CMT)