Already Mine

I meet the morning with love to spare.

Rainwater rests in the low places of the sidewalk. The tops of the hedges are bright, but the pavement beside them is still in shade.

On the front step, I notice that one shoe feels tight. I loosen the lace and tie it again, leaving a little more room.

I say the first words aloud ~

My foot settles comfortably inside the shoe.

I start down the block.

An old conversation comes to mind before the first corner. I begin supplying the better answers, the ones I thought of later.

My jaw tightens around the words.

“The past holds no weight over me! It has been entirely rewritten into a beautiful lesson for my spiritual expansion.”

I know how I would speak now.

I let that knowledge come with me and leave the argument behind.

A root has lifted the next square of pavement. I raise my foot over the edge without breaking stride.

“There is no force in existence, no past mistake, and no present obstacle that can even slightly block my path.”

The sidewalk continues beneath the trees.

So do I.

After a few steps, the day begins lining itself up in my head. I am halfway through a task I have not started, answering a question nobody has asked.

“I silence the noise of anxiety and completely wipe out any lingering hesitation.”

My next breath goes all the way out.

Behind a fence, a dog shakes water from its coat. I hear its collar jingle. Then I hear my shoes against the pavement.

“I’m daring and courageous!”

The words come out clearly.

I find myself smiling.

Where the hedge leans over the sidewalk, another walker approaches. I move a little to the side. He does the same.

“Good morning,” he says.

“Good morning!”

We pass with room between us.

“I am worthy of unshakeable love and unshakeable peace.”

I say it warmly, with the same ease as the greeting.

Beyond the trees, sunlight reaches my face. A breeze touches the back of my neck. My arms swing freely, and I can feel the pleasant work of walking in my legs.

“I’m fully awake and alive!”

At the next corner, I turn toward home.

Someone has opened a kitchen window. The smell of toast reaches the sidewalk. A spoon taps against a cup, and a voice calls from farther inside the house.

“Every detail of this day is falling into divine order.”

I walk for a while without adding another word.

A small bird lands on the hedge beside me. Its weight bends the thin branch. For two steps, we travel alongside each other before it lifts away.

“All of the blessings are already mine. I possess them now!”

I stop at the last corner and take out my phone. There are words from this walk I would like to share.

Before I type, I speak the last affirmation into the morning ~

I send a few of the words to someone I love.

Then I add two more lines.

“I love you!”

“Have an awesome morning.”

I press send, slip the phone into my pocket, and walk the last block in the sun.