Hello,
Little one.
Find a comfy place to rest in.
It's time to settle down and hear a story.
We'll begin by relaxing the body,
Your toes,
Feet,
Knees,
And legs.
Your hips,
Back,
And shoulders.
Your fingers,
Hands,
Elbows,
And arms.
Relax your neck,
Jaw,
Mouth,
Ears,
And eyes.
Place your tongue behind your front teeth into the hollow at the top of your mouth.
Breathe in and out of your nose.
Notice that with each breath you feel more calm.
Place your hands on your chest where your heart is and let it guide you to the place within you that is only yours.
The place where you are completely safe and secure.
The place where you belong.
No bad thoughts or words can enter here.
Nothing outside can come in unless you let it.
This is home.
It has existed since you were born and it will stay with you always.
It's like a warm,
Cozy blanket carried with you since birth.
Each stitch weaved together with the yarn of you.
Familiar,
Warm,
And cuddly.
It's a place that you can come to at any time.
All you need to do is bring your awareness to your breath.
Become calm and here you are.
It is from this place that imagined adventures begin.
A launching pad into creativity and dreams.
Where anything is possible,
You can go anywhere,
Do anything,
Be anyone.
If you can imagine it,
It can happen.
Tonight's story takes place on a beach.
Looking up,
Down,
And around,
Something is unusual.
You wonder why.
Perhaps it is a new moon.
The phase when the moon is on the other side of the sun.
But it seems darker than that,
Quiet and still.
Like there is something missing.
Abruptly,
A Nanking night heron breaks the silence of the night.
Croaking that echoes far and wide on this windless and very dark night.
The sound seems to dampen over the sea.
Casting your gaze seaward,
You notice a soft but rather ginormous glowing spot.
About 200 meters from the shore.
What could it be?
A dorsal fin rises from the waves a little way away.
A shark?
No,
A dolphin.
Playfully jumping and twisting in shallower waters.
Seems to beckon.
So you take off your socks,
Roll up your pajamas,
And wait out to meet the dolphin.
She playfully dances around you.
Splashing you with water.
Making sweet clicking noises.
This is absolutely delightful.
You start to dance with her.
Twisting this way and that.
Swimming around and around.
Until she swims under you and lifts you above the water.
You can't believe it.
You are riding a dolphin.
Her eyes meet yours and then they dart towards that big light in the ocean.
You understand she wants to take you there.
You nod and smile.
Yes,
Let's explore.
Hugging her tightly,
She carries you through the rocky waves that run to the shore.
Down and through and up.
Down and up and then through.
Up and down,
Up and down.
Until finally the water is still.
And then you swim together towards the ginormous glow.
Easily gliding through the silky water one stroke at a time.
The biggest golf ball you've ever seen starts to take shape in front of your very eyes.
But wait.
Could it be?
Yes,
It is.
It's the moon.
It must have fallen from the sky.
The dolphin is jumping high,
Springing up from the ocean like a kangaroo.
And then like a kingfisher gracefully diving deep down into the water.
That's when you notice the crabs and the shrimp.
They are busily digging mazes in the sand.
The dolphin swims around you.
Instinctively,
You wrap your arms tightly around her.
Take a deep breath.
And within seconds,
You're both at the bottom of the ocean.
Where you can see the amazing maze.
Much,
Much larger than the elk-shaped dream maze in China.
Millions and billions and squillions of ground sea creatures all working together.
Blowing bubbles into mazes.
Digging the moon out.
Instantly,
You have an idea.
If we get enough bubbles into the mazes,
Then the moon could possibly rise up.
Looking at the dolphin,
You fill your cheeks full of air and blow out a bubble.
Pointing to the moon.
Nodding,
She understands.
She brings you back to the surface of the moon where you can catch your breath.
She rushes off into the night.
From here,
You can see it all.
The dark black sky.
The bright stuck moon.
The tunnel mazes made from bubbles of the crabs and the shrimp.
The arrival of the puffer fish.
A flash of a silver sword.
Skimming,
Flying over the ocean.
So fast,
You might have imagined it.
Dolphin returns.
And together,
You swim circles around the moon.
Cheering on the puffer fish and the little crawlers below.
The ocean is becoming light and airy.
Bubbly and fizzing from below.
Slowly but surely,
The moon lifts from the sandy depths below.
In the distance,
A smokestack rises high above the water.
And a moment later,
A fishy smell.
The smokestacks come closer.
The fish smell more pungent.
And then,
They disappear altogether.
The moon is halfway out of the water.
All of a sudden,
It seems you are in a whirlpool.
The water sucking you both down and in.
Dolphin comes underneath and as you grab on,
Rushing you out from the moon to a safe distance beyond.
Looking back,
You watch stunned as the moon shoots up from the water.
Followed by what looks like an upside down waterfall.
As if you were looking through the earth and seeing Niagara Falls from Australia.
And then,
A huge blue whale.
Ginormous.
As big as the moon itself.
Wow.
The whale's eye locks in with yours.
And then,
Winks.
Sending a gust of wind your way.
And then,
He descends back down.
Taking the sea with him as if it were a frenzied whirlpool.
The night seems brighter now.
Looking up,
The moon is in its rightful place amongst the stars.
Celebrating,
You splash around with all your new friends.
The dolphin,
Crabs,
Shrimp,
And puffer fish.
And a bright flash of silver.
A Pacific swordfish.
The fastest fish in the ocean.
The messenger.
Who must have alerted the whale.
What a fun sea adventure with all of your new friends.
The dolphin and the swordfish frolic in the ocean.
Jumping in and out of waves beside you.
Happy but exhausted,
You swim back to the shore.
Returning home to that safe and secure place inside of you.
Home,
Sweet home.
At once you feel familiar,
Calm,
Loved.
Notice with every breath,
You become calmer.
More comfortable.
More sleepy.
Wrapped in a cocoon of love,
You begin to drift off to sleep.
I'll count backwards from ten,
And by the time I get to one,
You will be asleep.
Eight.
Seven.
Ten.
Six.
Five.
Three.
Two.
Good night.
