Hey.
The day's over now.
Pull the covers up however you like them.
Turn onto your back, or your side.
Whatever's easiest.
Let your head get heavy on the If pillow.
the room's too bright, or you're a bit cold, fix it now.
Then settle in.
You won't need to get up again.
Breathe in slowly...
And out...
a soft sigh.
Once more.
In...
And out...
slower.
Let's run back through today.
Backwards,
like flipping photos on your phone.
Start with brushing your teeth a few minutes ago.
The taste of the toothpaste.
The light in the bathroom.
Swipe past it.
Then dinner.
The drive home, or the walk.
The afternoon.
Don't stop on any of it.
Just let each picture slide past.
If one snags...
a comment someone made, something you forgot...
Notice it.
Then set it face down.
It's done now.
Keep going back through lunch, and the morning, all the way to waking up.
And there it is.
The whole day, finished.
You can close that album now.
Before you let it go completely, find one small good thing from today.
It can be tiny.
Warm coffee, or the sun on your arm for a second.
Let yourself feel it again, just a little.
Maybe it makes you smile.
Hold that one for a breath.
Thank you for that.
Now picture a still lake at night.
Black water, perfectly flat.
Your face goes smooth like that water.
Your jaw loosens.
Your tongue rests.
Your shoulders sink into the mattress.
Your arms lie there, heavy and loose.
Your hands have done a lot today.
Holding things, typing, carrying.
They can rest open on the sheet now.
Your chest rises and falls, slow as a small ripple.
Your belly goes soft.
Your hips get heavy.
Your legs...
from your thighs down to your heels...
sinking.
Your feet go quiet.
The whole body is still now.
Like the lake.
Nothing moving except the breath.
If a thought drops in, it's just a pebble.
A few rings on the water.
Then flat again.
Dark and quiet.
Breathe in...
barely.
And out...
sinking a little further.
The day is put away.
Tomorrow can wait.
You don't have to stay awake for the end of this.
sleeping...
right through till morning.