Sleep story · sea, simple
A caravan by the sea, if you are fitting this around other people — for jet lag
Thin walls, wind outside, and the sound of shingle about fifty metres away.
Reading it yourself. Back to the audio version.
The wind pushes against the side of the caravan in long, slow gusts. You can hear the shingle moving as the waves pull back. There is a torch by the door in case you need to walk to the toilets in the night.
The bed folds out of the seating area and takes up most of the floor. There is a gas ring, a kettle, and two cups, one of which is a different pattern. The window over the sink has a small crack in the corner that has been there for years.
Let your lower back sink down into the mattress. Let everything you were holding today stay on the floor beside the bed.
Feel your heels sink a little into the mattress. Now feel your whole body at once, lying here, being held up.
The whole caravan smells of salt, gas and clean bedding. The curtains are thin, and the moon makes a pale rectangle on the floor.
Let the back of your neck lengthen out. Let your toes stop holding on to anything.
If a song is stuck in your head, let it play in the background. If you're distracted by a sound, let the sound be the object for a moment.
Feel your belly rise and fall without any help from you. Let your thumbs rest where they landed.
Let each breath be a little smaller than the last. Just the breath.
Let the breath be the only thing you are doing. Sleep. Let your breathing do the rest.
It is designed to fit around other people’s schedules.
Let this be the last thing you listen to.