Hi.
Happy Halloween.
Tonight a lot of people put on masks.
Just for fun.
For the next six minutes...
we'll do the opposite.
We'll take one off.
Gently.
First, get comfortable.
Let your back rest against something.
Let your hands go loose.
Breathe in slowly...
And out...
Look around the room for a second.
Find the door, and the window.
You're in a familiar place.
Nothing here will surprise you.
You can go at your own pace.
And stop whenever you want.
One more slow breath...
Everyone has parts they hide.
Parts they'd rather nobody saw.
Maybe it's anger.
The kind that flares up in traffic.
Or at the people you love most.
Maybe it's jealousy.
Or a neediness that makes you cringe.
Texting twice.
Needing to hear it again.
Think of a recent moment.
When that part showed up.
Let it come back to you.
Where were you?
What did you say, or do?
notice what happens now.
The urge to look away.
To shove it back down.
Ugh.
That's not me.
I hate that about myself.
That pushing away is the shadow.
The part we hide doesn't vanish.
It just works from behind the curtain.
And it shows up anyway.
Usually at the worst time.
So today, we won't push.
We'll turn around and look.
Kindly.
Picture that part of you as a kid.
A younger version of yourself.
Maybe ten, with scraped knees.
Or a moody teenager.
Whatever age shows up is the right one.
See what they're wearing.
How they're standing.
Arms crossed, maybe.
Or hiding a little.
This is the angry one.
Or the jealous one.
Or the one who needs so much.
Now kneel down to their level.
In your mind.
So you're eye to eye.
And ask them gently...
what do you need?
Wait for the answer.
It might be a word.
Or just a feeling.
Then ask...
what are you protecting me from?
Maybe the anger says...
I keep you from being walked on.
Maybe the neediness says...
I'm scared of being forgotten.
Just listen.
You don't have to fix it.
You don't have to agree.
Now tell that kid something.
Something you wish you'd heard back then.
Maybe...
I see you.
Or...
you make sense to me.
Breathe in...
And out...
Notice if their shoulders drop.
Even a little.
Now let that part sit beside you.
Not behind you anymore.
Right next to you.
Listen to the leaves outside.
Tumbling around in the wind.
Breathe in...
And out...
That part isn't your enemy.
It's been trying to help.
In a clumsy, scared way.
It learned its job a long time ago.
When you were small.
And it never got told it could rest.
You can tell it now.
Thanks for trying so hard.
I'm a grown-up now.
I've got this.
Let the younger you stay close.
Find the door and the window again.
Wiggle your shoulders.
Feel the ground again.
A slow breath in...
And out.
Here's your next step.
Do one small, kind thing today.
For that part of you.
Say it needs to feel noticed...
call someone who knows you well.
And talk about your week.
Give it what it wanted.
In a healthy way this time.
No double texts.
No testing Just anyone.
a real conversation...
where you get to be heard.
Enjoy your Go Halloween.
do that one kind thing.