Are you ready to meditate with Kari?
Get comfortable in your bed.
Lie down.
Turn the lights down.
Make sure that you know it's time to relax.
This story is all about a boy called Aiden.
Aiden had a treasure chest.
To everyone else in the world his treasure chest just looked like a wooden box.
It wasn't too big,
It wasn't too small,
It wasn't anything special.
It was a box that he kept underneath his bed.
But he called it his treasure chest because everything that was inside of it was a treasure to him.
Aiden's mom and dad had been divorced for quite a few years now.
His dad had got a new job which took him to a different state which meant he only saw his dad a couple of times a year.
Of course this isn't what Aiden wanted.
His mom and dad getting divorced wasn't something Aiden wanted.
But it didn't take him very long to see that his mom was much happier afterwards and so was his dad.
It wasn't anything that Aiden was doing wrong.
It was just his mom and dad didn't get along anymore.
They weren't good together anymore.
They were better apart.
It took him quite some time to get used to the idea but once he saw that his mom was happy again and his dad was happy again it was easier for him to handle.
But then when dad got this new job and moved away,
Aiden missed him a lot.
They talked all the time on the phone.
They would FaceTime so he got to see his dad but it wasn't the same as being with him.
That's why his treasure chest was so important.
There were four things in his treasure chest.
Four things that he treasured dearly.
Four things that every time he opened the box magically took him to different places in his mind.
And to Aiden it felt like every object in that box made his memories come back to life as if he was right there living them once again.
He had a photo in his box.
A photo of him and his dad.
He was three years old and he was making sandcastles on the beach.
His dad was teaching him how to make a sandcastle.
How to get the sand just the right texture.
Not too wet,
Not too dry.
It had to be just right so that it would form a shape in the bucket and then when you tipped it upside down the shape would hold and you could make a really awesome sandcastle.
Aiden would just close his eyes and he'd be there on the beach.
He could smell the ocean,
Hear the waves,
Feel the sun shining down on his body.
He'd be sat there just looking up at his dad listening to him explain all about the sand.
Showing him exactly what the texture looked like.
So he could make the best sandcastles ever.
Aiden would just sit there with his eyes closed for the longest time and relive everything about that day.
The ice cream that they had.
How he got just a little bit sunburnt.
How it was just awesome being with his dad.
Then eventually he'd open his eyes and take a hold of another item.
The next thing he had in there was a sock.
Just a black sock.
One sock but that black sock was magical.
He would close his eyes and go back to the time in his memory where he was a pageboy for his uncle's wedding.
He had the responsibility of walking down the aisle carrying a pillow with the rings on it.
His dad taught him how to walk slow and steady with his shoulders back and his head held high.
He was seven years old at the time and it was such a big responsibility and he was so excited about it.
What he liked about this memory was the time he spent way before weeks and weeks before prepping with his dad practicing walking down the hallway carrying a pillow making sure his shoulders were straight.
He was standing nice and tall.
He wasn't walking too fast or too slow.
Just being with his dad.
Quality time.
One on one time just him and his dad.
That's what he liked about this sock and all the memories it magically brought back.
There was a pair of chopsticks in his treasure chest.
The chopsticks were from one of the Chinese restaurants they went to.
Every Friday night he had date night with his dad.
Just him and his dad would go and spend guy time together.
They always went for something to eat.
They liked to try all the different restaurants in town.
One of their favorite was the Chinese restaurant and that's why he had these chopsticks.
He held the chopsticks in his hand and closed his eyes.
He could smell the food,
Hear all the sounds,
The clatters and the bangs from the kitchen,
The people talking in the restaurant.
He could feel how warm it was in there and cozy and him and his dad would just talk to each other.
How was your day son?
His dad would say and then Aidan would say how was your day dad?
His dad would tell him all about his day.
He loved his Friday nights with his dad.
He missed them.
The last thing in his box was a train ticket.
A train ticket to the museum.
One time his dad took him to the museum and they spent the whole day together,
Riding on the train to get there,
Coming back on the train,
Having lunch together,
Doing the museum together.
It was a long day but it was one of his favorite days because they were together for so long,
Just him and his dad having quality guy time.
Aidan loved his mom very very much but it was different with his dad.
They seemed to have more in common.
Most of the time Aidan was totally fine but there were certain days where he was sad and he just felt the need to take out his treasure chest,
Go through all of his memories and all of the objects and feel close to his dad again.
It always made him feel like he was right there with him,
No matter what,
No matter how far away his dad was.
He would just take each item,
Close his eyes and use his awesome memory and make that day or that moment or that event come back to life once again in his mind.
He made it come back to life so good that he could smell it and taste it and touch it and feel it.
It was like he was right there all over again.
This always made him feel better.
It reminded him that he still had his dad,
He was just in a different city.
His dad still loved him,
He was just further away and then he'd be totally fine again and it might be weeks and weeks and weeks before he'd go back to his treasure chest but it was nice to know he had it if he needed it.
The end.
Now if you happen to be like Aiden,
Maybe it would be a good idea if you made a treasure chest.
Just a box,
A simple box,
Certain things that you could put inside it to remind you of a person.
It could be your dad,
It could be a mom,
It could be a grandma,
It could be somebody else that you care about.
It doesn't matter who,
It works for everybody.
Take the time to make a treasure chest full of happy memories so whenever you need to you can bring them back into your reality as if they were right there with you.
As you lay in bed think about all the different memories and all the different things that you could put in your box.
As you let your body relax maybe you could close your eyes and think about some of the special times and allow it to make you feel happy.
Happy that you have these memories.
They'll always be with you no matter what.
Now snuggle down and allow your body to relax so that you can go to sleep and have sweet,
Sweet dreams.
