How to be

Fill a chipped china teacup

with the first deep breath of the morning.

*

Empty your mind of the words:

“I have to” “I'm late for” “I wish I”

*

All you have, now, is this one thought:

“I am a thought.”

*

Notice how it is not you saying that sentence,

But the thought itself saying that sentence:

*

“I am a thought.”

Realise: you are not a thought.

*

You exist beyond the desire for happiness.

Forget, for a moment, the past and the future.

*

The present is the only time

We have power.

*

I see how it gets to you;

the yearning for something good.

*

Come here. Let me hold you.

You are good enough already.

*

Now bathe a chamomile tea bag

in hot water for five minutes.

*

Add a dash of milk— not too much—

and slowly sip the rest of your day.