The

The United States There's a song by the band The Head and the Heart, and the refrain goes,

Just for a moment, let's be still.

It's such a simple lyric, but every single time I hear it, I somehow exhale

deeper and my shoulders drop a bit. Life demands so much movement. There is so much to do in a day

and endless distractions. Nighttime is when we usually slow down, but even that is easier

said than done, right? I have had a string of nights recently when I feel like I am just

running until it's time for my head to hit the pillow. But of course, that means my nervous

system is humming along and will not let me sleep peacefully. On one of these nights

of tossing and turning, I did what I almost never do. I got out of bed. I knew I completely skipped

any kind of wind-down routine for too many days, and if I wanted to sleep at all, I needed to be intentional about it.

So, I got up, went into the living room, lit a fire in the fireplace, got myself a warm

cup of tea and a cozy blanket, and did a 30-minute meditation. When I opened my eyes at the end of

the meditation, finished my tea and turned off the fire,

I went back to my bed and had a really lovely, solid night of sleep.

Giving ourselves these transitions is so important.

It can also extend beyond our nighttime routines.

There are times in life when it behooves us to be

still. Transitions when you're simply not sure what the next right step may be. Sometimes after a

big life event, like a birth, death, breakup, graduation, or other life event that calls us to

just be for a moment until the next chapter begins.

Meditation gives us practice doing this, so when life asks this of us, it is slightly less

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