Good evening,
Welcome,
My name is Mark.
You're safe now,
It's time to let the day melt away.
Take a deep breath in and let it go.
Once more,
A soft inhale and an even slower exhale.
Feel the weight of the bed beneath you,
Feel your body softening as if you were floating effortlessly and gently on a cloud of warmth and calm.
Tonight,
I'm going to tell you a story,
A gentle tale about love and becoming real.
It's called The Velveteen Rabbit,
So close your eyes if you haven't already and simply let your mind drift gently into the story.
There once was a Velveteen Rabbit,
Soft and brown with shiny eyes.
He was a Christmas gift to a little boy,
Tucked into a stocking.
At first,
The rabbit was loved a little but then forgotten among all of the other toys.
He lay in a nursery watching the others play.
The mechanical toys thought they were grand and they talked down to the rabbit for he had no wind-up key or moving parts.
But,
In the quiet,
The old skin horse,
Who had lived in the nursery for many,
Many years,
Shared something very special with the Velveteen Rabbit.
He said,
Real isn't how you're made,
It's a thing that happens when a child loves you for a long,
Long time.
The rabbit listened and wondered,
Could he ever become real?
One day,
The boy couldn't find his favourite toy,
So the nana picked up the Velveteen Rabbit and tucked him into the boy's arms.
From that moment on,
The rabbit was no longer forgotten.
He went everywhere,
To the garden,
To tea time and even to bed.
The boy whispered secrets into his ears.
He hugged him tightly during thunderstorms.
He called him Bunny.
The rabbit was so,
So happy.
He felt warm and light inside.
He thought to himself,
Perhaps I am real now.
But he didn't quite understand,
That realness came from something deeper still.
One evening,
While playing outside,
The Velveteen Rabbit saw real rabbits hopping in the grass.
They were sleek,
Fast and their noses twitched.
They looked at him and said,
Come play with us.
The rabbit tried to hop,
But he couldn't.
He was stuffed,
You see.
They laughed unkindly and said,
You're not real.
The Velveteen Rabbit's heart sank,
But he did remember what the Skin Horse said.
Real isn't how you're made.
It's something that happens when you are truly loved.
And he knew,
The boy did love him.
So maybe,
Just maybe,
After all,
He was real.
Time passed and the boy became unwell.
He had a fever and the Velveteen Rabbit stayed by his side,
Keeping him company.
When the boy recovered,
The doctor said,
Everything the boy touched had to be burned.
Yes,
Even the Velveteen Rabbit.
The rabbit was taken to the garden shed to await this fate.
He felt alone,
Afraid and forgotten.
A single tear rolled from his glassy eye,
But then a beautiful glowing figure appeared.
The Nursery Magic Fairy.
She said,
You were real to the boy because he loved you.
Now I will make you truly real to everyone.
She kissed him on the nose and in that moment,
The rabbit's seams fell away.
He had strong legs and soft fur.
He could twitch his nose and stretch out in the beautiful moonlight.
He was a real rabbit!
That spring,
The boy went to play in the woods again.
He saw a wild rabbit watching from the trees.
It had soft familiar eyes and a gentle curiosity.
He didn't recognize his old toy,
Not in this real rabbit.
Nevertheless,
Something in his heart stirred and the rabbit,
Now truly alive,
Watched over the boy from a distance.
Grateful,
Whole,
Real.
Let those last words settle into your heart.
Realness isn't about how you appear.
It's about how deeply you are loved and how much you love in return.
Maybe there are parts of you that have felt forgotten or tossed aside.
But love has a beautiful way of making everything brand new again.
You are real.
You are loved.
And you,
My friend,
Are enough.
Just as you are.
Let your breath soften now,
Dear one.
Let your mind drift.
Let the gentle music carry you deeper and deeper into a restful slump.
Good night,
Little velveteen dreamer.
Dream happy.
Good night.
