Some people have been the mountain so long that everyone — including them — has stopped seeing it as a choice. They answer the phone at 2 a.m. They hold the family together, cover the shift, carry the worry no one else wants to touch. Ask how they're doing and they say fine, then turn the question back to you.

You're thinking of one of them right now.

Today's practice is for them — not as a thought, but as the actual standing. Take the upright position they've been holding. Carry the weight of being here for a few breaths, so they don't have to. They won't know you did it. That's the point.

For these few breaths, they got to rest. You did that.

Read today's reflection · Begin your practice