A garden in the rain, when you have more time than usual — for winding down

The path has gone darker where it is wet, and there are two small puddles near the step. The watering can by the tap is full and nobody needs it. Under the awning it is dry, and the sound is a steady, unhurried patter.

Water runs off the gutter in a thin, continuous line. The rain on the roof of the awning is a lower sound than the rain on the leaves. The leaves in the border are dark and glossy and moving slightly.

Feel the weight of the blanket on your legs. Let your thighs be as heavy as they want to be.

Let everything you were holding today stay on the floor beside the bed. Let your forehead go cool and smooth.

A snail is making its way along the bottom of the wall, going nowhere in particular. Somewhere in the hedge, a bird is sitting it out.

Feel the back of your knees soften into the bed. Now feel your whole body at once, lying here, being held up.

Let your calves spread out and flatten. Your ankles can go loose now.

There is a wooden bench that nobody has sat on for an hour. The rain has settled into the kind that will last all afternoon without getting heavier.

Let your shoulder blades spread out and drop. Your jaw can drop slightly. Let your teeth part.

There is nothing to do about any of it, which is the good part. The earth smells the way it does after a long dry spell.

Let the back of your neck lengthen out. Feel your heartbeat somewhere far away.

The watering can by the tap is full and nobody needs it. Water runs off the gutter in a thin, continuous line.

Your chest can be still now. Let your upper arms fall wherever gravity puts them.

Under the awning it is dry, and the sound is a steady, unhurried patter. The leaves in the border are dark and glossy and moving slightly.

Notice if you've been frowning at your own thoughts. Notice the exact moment your attention left. You probably won't catch it. That's normal.

Let your thumbs rest where they landed. Feel your cheeks let go.

Let the breath be the only thing you are doing. Leave it there.

Nothing here needs following closely. Let the thoughts come and go without you getting up to answer. Nothing needs deciding tonight.

Let the next part go past without you. Almost nothing to do now. Stay with the weight of your body.

This is the longer version, for a day with some slack in it.

Goodnight. There is nothing left to do.