Lazing Lagoon

The waters of the Lazing Lagoon are calm and the currents mellow. The light breeze is blowing wrinkles into the water's surface, causing the houseboats moored here to rock gently at anchor. The temperature is comfortable, not too cold, not too hot. From the deck of our boat, dubbed the Sylvia of the Sea, we have a commanding view of the surrounding landscape. Well, I say commanding, there's nothing much here to command. Just a lovely blue sky with white wisps of cloud against it, and the beach, and the blue-green stillness of the water itself. Maybe it's the view that commands us. What it seems to be telling us to do is to relax. So let's begin with a little wind down. Tonight's wind down is a visualization. So when you're ready, let's begin. Just take a moment to get comfortable. Letting go of the day. Enjoying that feeling of having stopped, of having nothing left to do. We're going to focus the attention of the mind on the different parts of the body. Watching as the muscles in the body switch off for the night. Leaving the body feeling rested and leaving the mind more at ease. So, starting down at the toes, and just a sense of the muscles switching off. The feet, the arches, all those muscles switching off. Same in the lower half of the legs. So any tension being let go of as the muscles switch off, shut down. In the upper half of the legs any tension melting away, being let go of. Into the area of the hips, the pelvis. Again, any muscles shutting down for the night, completely at rest. Everything from the waist down is heavy, at ease. The muscles in the lower back and the stomach now switching off. Middle of the back, around the diaphragm. The upper back and the chest. So, any muscles not needed shutting down, switching off for the night. The shoulders switching off. The upper half of the arms and the lower half of the arms, switching off. The hands, fingers, just switching off. Any muscles around the throat and the neck, switching off. The head, the face, the jaw, the eyes. Any last areas of tension, melting away as the muscles shut down, switch off. At rest for the night. And allowing thoughts to come and go. Allowing the mind and body the space they need to rest. The sunset, like everything here, is made beautiful by its restraint. The pale shades of mauve gradually being drained of color. Some days the lagoon is full of people, energetically kite surfing and water skiing, but school holidays are over and today there's just a couple on the beach playing bat and ball. Their shadows lengthening as the sun drops behind them. On the neighboring boat, a man wearing a crumpled linen shirt is cooking fish over an open fire. The air has a faintly woody smell and a hint of camphor. He must be...