When the Mind Runs Ahead

01Wherever you are, let your body stop moving. Just for a few minutes. Let the hands go still.

02Your mind has run ahead into a future that has not arrived. That is what minds do when they love you and are frightened. We are not going to argue with it. We are going to call it back gently, like a dog on a hill.

03Name five things you can see. Slowly. Let your eyes actually rest on each one.

04Now four things you can feel. The fabric at your wrist. The floor. The air on your face. The weight of your own hands.

05Three things you can hear. Two things you can smell, or two you remember. One slow breath, all the way in and all the way out.

06Notice: none of those things were in the future. Every one of them was here.

07Now breathe in for four, and out for six. The longer out-breath tells your body the danger is not in this room. Do this six times.

08If the worry returns, let it stand at the edge of the room. You are not ignoring it. You are simply not going with it right now.

09One more long breath. Then look up. This moment — this one — is the only one asking anything of you.