Mantra #6: Presence

The sun rises over the tidal inlet, clear and gold.

Light spreads across the boardwalk and enters the marsh grass one blade at a time. I step onto the planks with easy breath, warm light on my face, and both feet fully beneath me.

The morning meets me through skin, breath, bone, and light.

“I am a spiritual being in a physical body.”

My steps settle into the quiet rhythm of the boards.

“I am at peace.”

The rail is firm beneath my hand. The air moves softly across my arms.

“I’m safe in my own body.”

My chest opens with the next breath. Joy moves through me as naturally as the sunlight.

“I’m full of joy, and I am relaxed.”

“Life is so beautiful.”

The boardwalk curves toward an open deck above the water. Each plank gives me one simple place to step.

“We don’t worry about the future.”

The day is already here beneath my feet.

“We live today.”

Sunlight rests on the path behind me and opens the path ahead.

“We don’t relive the past.”

This breath belongs to this morning.

“We live today.”

A bright bird crosses the inlet. Ripples widen below it. The boardwalk carries me around another bend.

“Every day is a beautiful adventure.”

A few early walkers gather at the observation deck. We share the rail, the open sky, and the widening gold on the water.

No one needs to hurry the sun. We stand easily inside the same morning.

“We are totally relaxed and in perfect alignment with ourselves and the universe.”

The sun rises higher over the same open water.

The sun climbs above the distant pines. Water that was gold now shines blue between the reeds, and the shadows beneath the rail grow shorter.

A neighbor beside me tells me how the first light entered her kitchen before she came outside. I turn toward her and let every word arrive.

“I listen to people when they speak, and I really hear them.”

She describes the color, the quiet room, and the decision to follow the morning outdoors. Her voice carries its own rhythm.

“People are interesting.”

We share a smile. Her morning and mine meet for a moment without either one becoming smaller.

“I am connected to the source of everything.”

Sunlight reaches her face, my hands, the grass, and the water.

“The light in me recognizes the light in all other beings.”

She turns toward the inland path. I continue along the boardwalk. The meeting stays warm and complete.

“I am not responsible for other people’s stuff.”

She carries what belongs to her, and I carry what belongs to me.

“That’s their stuff.”

The next stretch of boardwalk waits in open sun.

“My focus is my domain.”

At the last platform, I stop above the bright water. Wind combs through the marsh grass while my breath remains slow and even.

“I am calm.”

I receive the sound of reeds, wings, and water.

“I am still.”

The boards hold firm beneath both feet.

“I do not shake.”

I lift my head into the full morning light.

“I stand.”