The Invitation
is to be present.
You are invited to be present right now.
You are invited to feel the wind run along your skin and the sun caress your face.
to smell pine cones or wet asphalt or cut grass.
to see the clouds or the curtains or the sofa cushions.
To taste papaya or oatmeal or this morning’s coffee lingering.
You are invited to hear the waves, should you have the good fortune to be near water,
But hammering coming from the construction site will also do.
Or, just feeling the tap, tap of your beautiful fingers on the keyboard or screen.
The invitation is to be curious.
You are invited to explore and discover.
You are not Cortez or Columbus — no disaster will emerge from your exploration.
You are invited to survey the trackless taigas of your vast interior.
You are invited to meet your inhabitants, to learn their dialects and make them your own.
You are invited to become a native, at home in yourself.
The invitation is to be kind.
You are invited to be tender with yourself.
To greet yourself each new day as a cherished friend.
To allow yourself to be a messy rough draft (and then maybe accept others as they are, too).
To welcome whatever comes as a messenger, a guide, a teacher.
You are invited to savor and gently embrace your sorrows.
The invitation is to trust.
You are invited to trust yourself.
To come home to what you looked for outside.
To catch yourself when you fall back into your own waiting arms.
To drink deeply from the nourishing wellspring of your own limitless heart.
You are invited to discover your capacity to love.
A place has been prepared for you. The table is set.
The invitation is here.
You can accept this invitation…..now.
You are invited to be awake for the full scope
and wonder of your human life.
-A poem by Ben Weinstein, a certified teacher of mindful self-compassion. To explore current mindful self-compassion offerings from Samaritan, click here.
