Tell Me A Story: 3

Welcome to Tell Me a Story.

Remember,

If we let it,

The essence of a story can weave its way into our unconscious mind and create positive changes.

Stories can address specific concerns,

Example fears,

Phobias,

Anxieties,

Weaknesses,

Illnesses,

And habits,

And create new ways of seeing and thinking and acting.

So now,

Sit or lie back,

Close your eyes if you wish,

And enjoy a story.

Just enjoy it without trying to analyze it,

And let it weave its magic.

The grump,

It,

And the garden of choice.

The grump groaned as the alarm rudely interrupted his sleep.

He opened one eye.

It was still dark.

His sleep-fuddled brain computed.

A work day.

He scowled and irritably turned off the alarm.

As he started to pull the bedclothes back over his head,

He thought he heard a voice.

Think I'm too late.

Perhaps not.

The speaker sounded hopeful.

The grump hastily threw back the bedclothes and sat up.

Was someone in his room?

A beam of light squeezed through the gap between his curtains,

Revealing a tiny,

He wasn't quite sure what,

A person sitting on his bed.

Amazement rendered him momentarily speechless.

It,

It said,

And smiled brilliantly,

Creating a flash of light.

That's better.

I think I've captured it.

The grump recovered his demeanor.

Rubbish,

He growled.

No such thing.

Whatever you are,

You can go away.

He slumped back and pulled the bedclothes over his head.

There was silence.

And more silence.

The grump's curiosity got the better of him.

He checked.

The it was still there,

Bathed in its radiant smile.

It locked eyes with his.

It beckoned.

Come on,

Before you go to work.

The mention of work instantly darkened the grump's mood even further.

His head began to throb.

His hip started to ache.

A feeling of nausea entered his stomach.

The its cheerful voice cut through the pain.

You choose.

The grump considered his options.

Stay in bed.

Get up and go to work.

Or,

And he could hardly believe he was thinking this,

Go with this it.

In the end,

There wasn't really much choice.

It touched him lightly on the forehead.

And suddenly he felt like he was falling.

Down.

Down.

Down.

A blurred kaleidoscope of colours rushed past.

Down.

Until he came to an abrupt stop,

Severely jarring his head and hip.

He groaned deeply as he collapsed into a sitting position.

His distorted vision cleared.

He seemed to be sitting in some sort of garden.

A rather dismal-looking garden.

Great,

You made it.

His eyes focused.

It was still sitting next to him.

Still beaming at him.

The grump shook his head in disbelief.

This couldn't be real.

He must be hallucinating.

He turned to look more closely and winced in pain as it poked him in the hip.

It was real,

All right.

That's my sore hip,

He grumbled.

It studied him thoughtfully.

When it spoke,

Its voice was gentle.

How's the other hip?

The grump couldn't help himself.

He involuntarily checked his other hip.

It was fine.

The soft voice of it continued.

What about your feet?

And your knees?

Your arms?

Your hands?

Your lungs?

Your veins?

Your ears?

Your eyes?

Your mouth?

Your?

It went on and on until the grump's head was spinning.

Stop!

He yelled out loud.

It looked surprised and stopped,

And then sweetly smiled and raised its eyebrows in a question.

Well,

The grump checked.

Everything's fine,

He mumbled.

And in fact,

Everything was fine.

Even his head.

And he checked.

Yes,

His hip,

Too.

Suddenly he laughed.

It just burst out of him before he could stop it.

The it flashed and caught it before the laugh disappeared.

The grump turned away.

He looked about him.

His face quickly resettled back into its disgruntled lines.

He was in the most neglected,

Miserable garden he'd ever seen.

It spoke.

Beautiful,

Isn't it?

Such green,

Green grass.

Magnificent trees and shrubs.

And what a vast array of colours and perfumes.

The grump shook his ears.

He must have missed her.

He stared incredulously at the it,

Who continued to wax lyrical about the beauty of the garden.

Sensing the grump's astonishment,

It stopped.

Of course,

I'm sorry,

I forgot.

It produced a large box which seemed to be full of faces.

It fumbled amongst them.

Try these.

It handed the grump a pair of the strangest,

Lightest glasses he'd ever seen.

The grump put them on.

In an instant the garden was transformed.

And he remembered it.

He saw it through his boyhood eyes.

The large leafy tree that he used to climb.

The thick,

Soft green lawn where he ran and rolled and played ball.

The secret places where he played hide and seek.

His special nook where he went to be alone.

The birds,

The insects,

The animals,

The colours and the perfumes.

How it changed with the seasons.

For a moment he became that boy.

He felt the wonder,

The laughter,

The excited anticipation,

The peace,

The ease.

He blinked and it was gone.

The it swapped the glasses.

The garden became a dark,

Tangled jungle.

Bushes with huge sharp thorns covered the path.

Tall,

Menacing trees blocked the way.

Dark,

Threatening clouds hung low in the sky.

A cold wind chilled him to his bones.

The grump shivered.

He had a brief mental image of himself.

Rebellious,

Disenchanted,

Selfish,

Frustrating confrontations,

Disappointed outcomes,

Outbursts of anger.

He felt his heart compress.

His head throbbed.

His legs felt weak.

Its voice rescued him from his vision.

You choose.

It held out the box full of faces.

The grump studied them.

Most of them were gloomy and unattractive.

They were all of him.

Hidden near the bottom,

A bright,

Cheerful,

Smiling face caught his attention.

He picked it up and it became a pair of glasses.

It depends on how we see things,

Explain it,

As the grump put on the glasses.

The garden took the grump's breath away.

It was the most beautiful garden he'd ever visited.

Perfect in every way.

It was centered around a beautiful crystal clear lake.

The sun was shining.

The breeze was the light.

Soft clouds drifted across a deep blue sky.

There were smiling faces everywhere.

The garden flourished.

He remembered.

The images passed through his memory.

His wedding,

His family,

His home,

His work,

His joy,

His strength,

His sense of purpose,

His sense of achievement,

His happiness.

Even in times of difficulty,

He met each day with a sense of adventure and hope.

Then it was gone.

The vision suddenly disappeared.

The garden returned to its neglected dismal state.

The grump's eyes filled with tears.

He removed the glasses and the it returned them to the box of faces.

The grump's features settled into their usual lines.

His shoulders slumped.

He felt exhausted.

He wanted to go back to bed.

Come.

It took the grump's hand and led him across the barren lawn into a building hidden in the trees.

It opened the door into a huge dimly lit room filled with row upon row of angled mirrors.

They entered.

Hundreds of dreary,

Gloomy,

Dark faces greeted them.

The grump stepped back with shock as he realized the hundreds of faces were reflections of himself.

It whispered in his ear,

Choose.

You can always choose.

Choose your face.

Choose your attitude.

The grump forced the beginnings of a smile.

The room lightened and glimmers of smiles came back to him.

As he made the smile much,

Much bigger,

The room brightened.

Hundreds of smiles shone all around.

The grump felt lighter,

Brighter.

The seed of something grew within him.

It burst out like a bubble.

He laughed out loud.

The room laughed with him.

It reverberated with the sounds of laughter,

Light and crystal,

Sprinkles of joy and happiness spilling over together.

The grump breathed in the magic.

He felt his whole body respond.

The sound of his alarm destroyed the magic.

The grump reacted instantly.

It held him back.

One more thing.

It took the grump's hand and led him outside into the garden.

The grump blinked.

It was as if there had been a massive snowfall.

Everything was white,

Clean,

Pure,

Blank,

Like a blank canvas.

It handed him two packets of seeds.

One was bright and shiny.

The other was dark and drab.

For the garden of your future,

It explained.

You choose.

The grump looked at the bright shiny packet.

The grump looked at the bright shiny packet.

The grump looked at the bright shiny packet.

It held seeds of hope,

Love,

Compassion,

Happiness,

Endeavour,

Resilience,

Strength and wisdom.

And for a very brief moment,

The grump had a vision of a future garden of his choice.

He looked at the dull drab packet.

It held seeds of gloom,

Joylessness,

Sadness,

Drabness,

Despair,

Heartache and darkness.

And for a very brief moment,

The grump had a vision of a future garden of his choice.

And for a very brief moment,

The grump had a vision of his current garden of choice.

The alarm sounded again.

It once more offered the box of faces.

Choose your face.

Choose your attitude.

Your choice.

Choose your face for today.

Now,

Just sit for a moment or two and let your unconscious mind and all the cells of your body absorb the story.

Don't try to analyse it or judge it in any way.

Let it be what it is.

A story.

Namaste.