Yourself to get comfortable.
When you feel ready,
Close your eyes.
Take a deep breath and slowly exhale.
Take another deep breath and slowly exhale.
Take a final deep breath and slowly exhale.
Feel your body relaxing.
Feel yourself becoming even more comfortable and relaxed.
With your eyes closed,
Allow yourself to imagine you are walking alongside a gentle stream.
Breathing in the fresh air.
Feeling the warm sunshine on your skin.
Hearing the sounds around you.
Feeling your shoulders relax.
You notice up ahead there is a bend in the stream.
As you make your way around the bend,
You see a giant log on your side of the stream.
The log is a perfect place for you to sit for a while.
Go ahead.
Take a seat.
As you get comfortable,
You feel your grief bubbling up to the surface.
It's okay.
Allow your sadness.
You're safe here.
Safe to feel your grief.
Safe to feel your sadness.
Safe to express your emotions.
For you,
You lost more than just a dog.
The loss is of a member of your family.
You have permission to cry.
It's okay to feel the deep hole in your heart.
Your grief is real.
Your loss is valid.
You're allowed to acknowledge your loss and your grief.
Allow your sadness to come up to the surface.
Allow your tears to flow.
Allow yourself this time to grieve the loss of your beloved dog.
Allow yourself to grieve.
Allow yourself this time to grieve.
As you grieve,
Let your body begin to release the tightness you feel.
Allow your sadness to start to ease just a tiny bit.
Allow your attention to focus on the stream in front of you,
Watching the water go by you.
As you watch the water,
Understand it's still okay to feel your sadness,
Your pain,
And your grief.
Allow the movement of the water to bring you a sense of calmness.
Take a breath and slowly let it out,
Releasing anything you need to release.
Taking one more breath,
And again,
Releasing what you need to release.
Feel the warmth of the sunshine surrounding you,
Embracing you,
Almost like the sun is offering its love to you at this time.
Allow the warm sunshine to gently embrace you.
As you watch the water go by,
Allow yourself to become more calm.
Allow yourself to feel a bit more grounded.
Allow yourself to feel comforted.
As you continue to watch the water flow by,
You understand you can come back here as much as you need to.
You realize it is time to slowly head back to the present.
With that realization,
You slowly stand up from the log you are sitting on,
Realizing how comfortable the log was to sit on.
You begin to make your way back to the bend in the stream.
As you walk,
You feel a renewed sense of calmness,
A sense of strength,
A sense of comfort.
As you round the bend,
You begin to hear the sounds around you.
You begin to feel the position of your body.
And when you are ready,
Open your eyes,
Taking a moment to ground yourself back in the present moment,
Feeling your feet firmly on the ground,
Allowing yourself to be fully present,
Back in your body,
Feeling alert and ready to continue with your day.