A short script for the moments when you’ve been gone a while and the door looks heavier than usual. To be read aloud or silently when returning feels like it requires explanation, atonement, or a fresh commitment.
The script:
"I haven’t been here for ___ days/weeks/months. That’s the gap.
The door is still open. It always was.
I’m not behind. I’m not starting over. I’m walking back in.
I don’t owe an apology. I don’t need to recommit. I don’t have to do everything tonight.
I just need to be inside the room for a minute.
Hand on chest. One breath I noticed. The practice resumed."
When the breath has happened, the script has done its job. There’s no fourth step. The door stays open whichever way you go from here.
Keep it with you: print this tool as a card (PDF).
Audio guide: arriving with the book's launch.
Come back to this whenever you need it. Returning is the practice.