Imagine a shell

A beautiful, spiral, sundial shell

Which twists round and round itself

Every time you look at the shell

You notice something new

First, you notice the shape of the shell

You look at the top, where the spiral begins

It starts at a point, and curves gently down

A smooth continuum, a curl

Somehow, the way it circles round

Sloping and leaning and twisting

Is peaceful.

Now you’re holding the shell

It fits in your hand

Weightlessly

It’s cool to touch

You feel how the shell twists round

Parts are slightly raised

You run your fingers over them

Feel the rough

But most of the shell is smooth

So smooth

You breathe slow and steady breaths

Your breath is smooth, too

Then you notice the colour of the shell

There is cream and white

With browns

And a vibrant yellow running through

The colours are so distinct

Yet at the same time

They somehow merge into one another

And when you look really closely

You see pale dots and speckles creating a soft focus

A gold strand spirals down the whole curve of the shell

Like a perfect thread

And you can see all the colours winding down and round and round

A medley of colour

You hold the shell to your ear

You listen and hear an echo

A soft sound resonating inside the shell

You turn the shell over

And you see that once it was the home to a mollusc

A soft creature, protected by a hard shell

The mollusc was safe, tucked up inside

You breathe slow and steady breaths

You are safe, too

Now you imagine the shell in the sea

Amongst the coral and rocks

And the soft sway of the underwater plants

And you see millions of grains of sand

In the blue water

It makes a soft haze

As you look closely, you can see more shells

Some are big

Some are small

There are different shapes

And different colours gathered

A beautiful mosaic of shells

In harmony with one another

But every shell completely unique

And special

You can see rays of sun coming from above

Through the water

The yellow turning the blue to turquoise

The light reaches the shell

Catching the golden thread

Making it shine

And illuminating the whole shell

And its spiral

It’s beautiful

Everything is calm

You breathe slow and steady breaths

You are calm, too

And with all your focus on the shell

You know your mind is relaxed

With your slow, steady breath

Your body is relaxed

You are completely relaxed.

And now you’re back, on the land

Holding the shell

Gently, you put it down where you found it

It’s back at home

But you can close your eyes and imagine holding your shell again

Imagine its curve, its feel, its colours, its sound

Whenever you want to

You can focus on your shell

Relaxing your mind

Relaxing your body

Until you’re completely relaxed again