When the gasps of fear start to overwhelm you, soften.

When the claws of anger take its hold on you, soften.

When you feel the pang of humiliation and rejection, soften.

When you feel the dread of insecurity and self-doubt, soften.

When you feel suffocated by your impatience, soften.

When you feel the heaviness of your finances, soften.

When the heat of road rage starts to burn inside, soften.

When the panic of the future starts to cripple you, soften.

When you feel the gut punch of heartbreak from loss, soften.

Whenever we’re faced with adversity in various moments in our lives, our automatic response is to contract.

Our bodies enter into the tension of flight, fight or freeze and our breath gets shallow.

We all do it.

It’s part of being human.

But often times we don’t even notice the tension because everyone around us operates from the same contracted state so we consider it normal.

It’s not normal…if we get stuck there.

I invite you, for a day, to notice how often your body contracts.

Then notice what happens when you override that automatic response and choose to soften instead.

Your mind is probably thinking…what does that even mean?

The invitation to soften is not directed at your mind…it’s a suggestion for your body.

It’s not an intellectual experience but a physical one.

The word “soften” is a language your body can understand.

Trust that when the body softens, the mind will follow.

This practice happens in the delicate space between when your body automatically reacts to a challenge and how your mind chooses to act on it.

It’ll be a split second.

In that tiny moment you realize, in softness, you have the capacity to hold the space for your pain.

As humans, we look at the pain of our problems as bad or unfortunate.

Pain we want to avoid.

We don’t think we avoid it until we’re actually in it and we unconsciously reach for - talking, busy doing, food, alcohol, TV, social media, cell phones, work.

Of course, there’s nothing wrong with any of these things until they become distractions.

You’ll know the difference.

Softening allows us to feel the wave of discomfort from life’s challenges and be okay with it.

We realize it’s just a current through our bodies that has a beginning, middle and an end.

I’m sure you’ve heard this many times…“this too, shall pass”.

When you allow the current to pass through you in softness, something waits for you on the other side.

Any and all pain loses its power to harden you from Life.

You discover your resilience.

You’re okay.