Tenderness

Gustav Klimt 'mother and child' .

Close your eyes.

Allow yourself to be held by imaginary arms. 

They might be the arms of your mother, the way she held you when you were small.  Or the arms of a lover, as they held you close to their heart. Or the arms of mother urth, the way she envelopes you in her waters and her sands.  Or the arms of the air as it drifts by your bare skin on a windy day.  Or the arms of a child as it reaches out to you to be nearer. Or the arms of you father as he carried you while you slept.  Or the arms of your friend as you remember stories from adventures you shared. 

Find the arms that call you and let them hold you.  Envelope you.  Nurture you. 

In these arms is all the care and acknowledgement you yearn to receive.  A recognition of your being-ness not of your achievements, just of you.

Feel these arms.  Surrender yourself to their embrace.

Feel their tenderness.

Know you are loved. For you are.

Come back from this feeling with a few deep breaths in and out to stabilise yourself.

Rest gently tonight.