Clarity from the Calm, Quiet Voice

an invitation to bathe

A hot bath at bedtime is one of my homes. 

Falling asleep in the water, I hear clear messages from my subconscious. Think less. Do less. Be more. 

When I’m awake and spinning through my day, hyperproductive, highly engaged, constantly reflecting on how the world I am creating with my thoughts is… 

My responsibility. 

Yet, in the bath tub, it’s this:

I cannot do it alone. We cannot do it alone. Nothing is done alone. 

You and I aren’t separate. We only seem to be. So many things seem to be. 

So I run around, day after day, chasing… one thing after another. 

Sprinkled in between all of those hectic moments, Life is still present in only one moment of Now at a time. And inside, there is a quiet voice that knows. 

It is the voice for Love. It is the voice of Home. 

My body knows this voice, and she reminds me when I enter monkey brain again. And again. She will never stop reminding me.  

I step into the tub, immersing my body’s calves and hips, and contemplate the day ahead, that place we call the future. I see myself… 

Resting more. Efforting less. Allowing more. Thinking less. Feeling more. Singing, dancing, pedaling, paddling, laughing with my 11-year-old daughter, playing frisbee, basking in the beauty and sadness of this world… as much as humanly possible, as much as I can surrender to. 

Since childhood, I have had a sense that thinking is overrated. No question here. This sense remains. 

Still, I spin with my own thoughts and actions, living in a society intent on keeping me busy, distracted from the stillness within. 

From a day of spinning, a bath awaits.

And in the morning, a trail to climb, where I can inhale coastal fog and flirt with Spanish moss. 

Again, I sing in prayer as I hike over the rolling hills, feeling the elation of muscle and blood, free from the insanity of existence. 

Here, in the stillness of my bathed and breathing being, I am Home.

All the Love in the world,

Jessica Rios

Founder and Love Coach, Leaning into Light

Author and Producer, Making Love to Fear

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P.S. Here’s a conversation called Effort Doesn’t Work Anymore, with Aaron Abke and Kyle Cease exploring the difference between doing and Being. Aaron writes:

“Society often teaches us to put in effort and struggle to achieve our goals, instilling in us the belief that our worth is tied to our achievements and the amount of effort we exert. This mindset can create stress and dissatisfaction, as we constantly strive to prove ourselves through our actions and accomplishments. However, there is a more harmonious way to live that is aligned with our true nature.”