Are you ready to meditate with Kari?
Make sure that you're comfortable,
You're relaxed,
Everything is good in the world and you're ready to just listen to a story.
Let your body get snuggly and cuggly.
Time to just let everything go.
Tony the Sloth had been traveling for three long months.
Three months it took him to get from one side of the forest to the opposite side of the forest.
Tony was visiting the wishing tree.
He'd heard so many stories for such a long time about the wishing tree.
Apparently it was the biggest,
Amazingest tree in the forest.
He would know it as soon as he saw it.
That's what everybody said.
You'll know it as soon as you see it.
You just can't miss it.
You see it and you know instantly that it's some kind of magical tree.
That's what all of his friends had told him.
Tony had some wishes.
There were certain things that Tony was good at but he figured if his wishes came true he would be such a happy person.
So much happier than he'd ever been before because he'd have everything he wanted.
On this particular day it just was like every other day.
It seemed to him to be just like every other day for the last three months.
Trugging very,
Very,
Very slowly from one tree to the next tree over and over and over until he spotted what he thought must be the wishing tree.
It was full,
Like a big,
Full tree.
A tree like you would draw when you were a child.
The branches were full of leaves,
As big and fluffy on top.
And then the trunk of the tree was large and wide and round.
And it had all these amazing roots growing into the ground.
This had to be the tree,
He thought.
It trucked and trucked and trucked and climbed and climbed and climbed until eventually he was standing at the base of the wishing tree.
He'd been told by some of his friends that all you had to do is sit down,
Lean your back against the tree and say your wishes.
So that's what he did.
He sat down on the roots of the tree,
Laid his back against the big,
Strong trunk,
Closed his eyes and said out loud his first wish.
I wish that I could be as fast as a cheetah or a rat,
Something very fast,
A rabbit.
But I think maybe a cheetah would be best.
He kept his eyes closed,
Stayed very still and quiet.
All he could hear was the tree rustling and moving above him.
The wind was blowing through the leaves and the branches.
He was sure it wasn't his imagination.
He was sure that the leaves and the branches and the wind got louder when he made his wish.
As if they were talking to him.
He stayed very,
Very still and quiet.
The leaves seemed to say,
Is that what you really want?
Do you really want to be a cheetah,
A rabbit or a rat?
Do you not see how awesome you are as a sloth?
Tony shook his head as if to say,
No,
I didn't hear that.
Couldn't hear that.
I'm not awesome.
I'm not fast like a cheetah.
He said his wish out loud again.
I want to be as fast as a cheetah.
The leaves and the tree started to sway and move very strongly,
Making lots of noise.
And in the midst of the noise,
He heard the tree say,
Moving slow means you can see and notice everything.
The leaves ran way too fast.
They're always busy catching and hunting.
Never resting.
Is that what you really want?
Again Tony shook his head as if to say,
I didn't hear that.
That's not what the tree said.
He thought maybe he should move on to his next wish.
He said out loud,
I wish I could be as cool as a tiger.
Tigers were very cool to Tony.
Everything went quiet in the forest.
All he could hear was the tree rustling and moving and then talking to him.
Tigers are cool,
But tigers really,
Really would like to be sloths.
I've had many tigers tell me they prefer to rest and lounge and sleep all day and just be a sloth.
Tony shook his head.
What?
That can't be true.
Tigers are so much cooler than sloths.
Tony thought,
Oh,
I'm just going to try my last wish.
Let's see what happens then.
I wish that I was as tall as a giraffe.
Tony really didn't like being small.
The tree went quiet and then rustled and shook.
The wind got really strong and once again he could hear it speaking to him.
The wishing tree said,
Giraffes are very tall.
That's true,
But are they as cool as sloths?
Tony shook his head in frustration this time.
What is this tree talking about?
I thought this tree was magic.
I thought this tree was a wishing tree.
I was told it made your wishes come true.
I don't understand.
I keep telling them a wish and then all it does is turn things around and say that I'm awesome as a sloth.
Do I really need to be fast because slow is the best way to go?
And then how can I be as cool as a giraffe?
Giraffes are super tall and they get to see everything.
How can a sloth be as cool as a giraffe?
But then something clicked inside Tony's little mind.
Oh,
Is this tree trying to tell me that I'm already cool like a tiger?
And being slow is awesome like a sloth?
And not being tall like a giraffe is okay?
Because being the size of a sloth is good too?
Is this tree trying to show me that my wishes are to wish to be something else instead of myself?
And really the problem is I'm not seeing myself as being who I really am.
And that's a sloth.
And sloths are absolutely amazing.
Is that what you're trying to tell me?
The wishing tree shook.
Its leaves started to fall and come out of the tree as if it was showering Tony the sloth.
It was like confetti,
Like a celebration.
And the tree seemed to giggle and laugh and ho ho ho ho as it shook and roared as the wind blew through it.
The leaves fell.
It didn't feel like too long before Tony was surrounded by leaves that felt like laughter,
That felt like acknowledgement and celebration that he finally figured it out.
Tony the sloth was absolutely amazing.
He didn't need to be a giraffe.
He didn't need to be a cheetah or a tiger or a rabbit or a rat.
He just needed to be himself.
That's when Tony realized how magical this wishing tree really is.
He gave the tree the biggest hug,
Climbed it and laid in its branches for a while.
He laid back,
Chilled out,
Did what he does best.
Just hung around in the tree,
Snacking on the stuff,
Watching the day go by,
Watching all the animals do their thing.
Just enjoying being a sloth.
How cool is that?
