Pause

Pause. Take a deep breath and just pause.

Wait. Take the time to centre yourself.

Close your eyes, listen to the sound of your inner voice.

Silence it.

Be surrounded by the sound of your breath.

In...and...out....

and in....and...out...

Calm. Breathe. Listen. Remember.

Remember the sound of the wind through the trees on a gentle, sleepy, summers day.

Remember that soothing, peaceful feeling you got, or get, in falling asleep on one of your parents'. So safe, and warm, and contented. The gentle stroking of a loving hand through your hair, how it soothed you, made you smile in your sleep, made you drift off even if you were wide awake.

Now pause.

Take that feeling, that moment, that serenity and envelope yourself with it, snuggle into it like a soft, warm blanket on a cold winters night.

Remember.

Hold it with you, always. So that when the world intrudes with its stresses and anxiety and demands for attention, NOW, you can shunt it off to one side and be wrapped in that muffling, soft, warm serenity of peace.