Being Here – Day 49
Being Here – Poem Day 49
Poem – When I make myself smaller
Earlier in this complex, we worked with status vigilance —
the pressure to prove, to hold position, to avoid slipping.
Today’s poem moves in the opposite direction.
Sometimes the response to hierarchy is not striving upward,
but staying low.
Reducing presence.
Taking up less space to remain safe.
This can be subtle.
Quieter voice.
Less eye contact.
Letting others move ahead.
For many people, this has been adaptive.
In some environments, shrinking reduced risk.
The poem does not ask you to become dominant.
It does not push toward confidence or exposure.
Instead, it works with something simpler:
that occupying your space quietly
does not create danger.
That vertical presence and dignity
do not require performance.
There is nothing to achieve while listening.
The sequence carries itself.
Pause.
If anything lingers or feels activating after listening, you might try one small thing — only if it feels helpful.
Let your spine lengthen slightly and remain there for a moment.
Nothing else is required.
Warmly,
Per
Poem – When I make myself smaller
There is space here to be the size you are. Nothing needs to be reduced.
The body is already supported, held by what’s beneath it, allowed to rise without lifting itself.
Awareness settles inside your outline, not shrinking back, not pressing forward, just noticing your place.
Muscles gather gently, not to defend, not to retreat, simply to hold you upright.
Breath moves easily again, not hidden, not restrained, moving through your whole shape.
Warmth stays present, not dimmed, not withdrawn, steady and contained.
The chest finds its own height, not puffed up, not folded inward, able to exist without apology.
The sense of being seen does not require performance. Visibility does not have to be earned.
The body recognises that taking up space does not threaten anyone.
There is a feeling of being here, noticeable without effort, solid without display.
This moment does not ask you to stand out or step aside.
You remain here, inside a body that is allowed to occupy its place without shrinking.
For now, that is enough.
