Making New Friends At Christmas: Bedtime Story

This sleep story follows Lesley, who feels particularly lonely during Christmas. Craving friendship but finding it hard to connect with others, Lesley appreciates the season's beauty. One day, Lesley visits a coffee shop, immersing themselves in a book over a Christmas hot chocolate. As the shop bustles with people, someone sits beside Lesley and strikes up a conversation about the book. This sparks a connection, as they discover shared interests.
Gradually, Lesley and their new friend begin spending more time together, with Lesley feeling increasingly comfortable and confident. They enjoy serene moments by a stream in a park and even dine with the friend's circle, introducing Lesley to more like-minded individuals. Despite initial nervousness, Lesley is welcomed warmly, especially by a friendly cat. The evening leaves Lesley feeling valued and eager to meet these new friends again.

Transcript

So as you listen to this sleep story,

You can take a moment to close your eyes,

And with your eyes closed you can allow yourself to get comfortable,

And as you get comfortable,

You can begin to drift to sleep,

And I don't know whether you'll drift to sleep faster to the sound of my words,

Or perhaps to the spaces between my words,

And as you listen to this,

I'll just tell this story in the background,

And this is a story about Leslie,

And every year,

As Christmas approaches,

Leslie feels more lonely than usual,

Leslie finds that this time of year,

That it seems to really highlight how alone they are,

They walk around and they see couples,

Hand in hand,

Walking down the street,

They look into restaurants,

They see couples laughing with each other in restaurants and cafes,

They see friends meeting up in cafes,

Laughing,

Having a good time,

They see all these people wearing Christmas jumpers,

And laughing and starting conversations about the different jumpers they're wearing,

They see people being invited to work Christmas do's,

And everyone seems to be getting on so well,

Laughing with each other,

Enjoying the Christmas do,

And yet they find that they're always alone,

That when they go to a work Christmas do,

They feel so anxious,

So nervous about blending in,

About engaging in conversation,

That they sit in a corner,

Have their hands around a drink,

And just stare at that drink,

Trying not to make eye contact,

Trying not to draw any attention to themselves,

And they desperately wish that they could form some friendships,

They're not specifically after having a romantic relationship,

But would just like some people in their life,

And to feel comfortable meeting up with those people,

Spending time with those people,

But they have never seen themselves really as someone able to go out with a group of friends,

They're not really confident using social media,

Or making small talk,

And they find that people they know in work,

Want to talk about things that they've got no interest in,

And definitely don't want to talk about things that they are interested in,

So when it reaches this time of year,

When everyone seems to be coming together,

They really feel that it emphasises how alone they actually are,

That every day after work,

They go home and sit alone,

And on days off they spend them alone,

And they smile and they say good morning,

Good afternoon,

They try their best to make polite conversation in work,

But they never really feel that they master being able to turn that polite conversation into any kind of meaningful relationship,

And as Leslie is walking around,

Admiring how beautiful the town she lives in looks at this time of year,

With Christmas music playing from shops,

The smells from Christmas market,

The crispness to the air,

The crunchiness of snow,

And as evening draws in,

The way that the lights twinkle and sparkle with decorations crossing the street,

A Christmas tree,

Lit up,

People walking around smiling,

People being more polite and friendly,

And yet they're walking around feeling alone,

And they decide to go into a coffee shop,

They sit down in that coffee shop,

They get themselves a Christmas hot chocolate,

And they're not really into Christmas from a religious perspective,

But they do like things like Christmas hot chocolates,

Mince pies,

Food and drink they don't really get or have access to the rest of the year,

They like the way that everything's made to look so friendly and light and jolly,

Especially at a time of year when before Christmas lights switch on,

It can begin to get dark so early in the evenings,

It can often be dreary and grey,

And then in the middle of winter,

In the middle of this dreary and grey period of time as far as they see it,

There's these couple of months of colourful lights,

Smiling people,

And just a general jolliness,

And so they sit with a hot chocolate,

A Christmas themed hot chocolate,

In the cafe,

They sit on their own,

At the table,

They take out a book,

They put some headphones in their ears,

And they just sit there reading that book,

Listening to music,

And drinking that hot chocolate,

Ignoring the world around them,

Absorbed in their own world,

And while they're absorbed in their own world,

They don't notice how much the coffee shop is filling up,

And as that coffee shop is filling up,

So eventually,

Someone ends up sitting down next to them,

Because it's the only spare space,

And they initially just ignore that person,

They carry on reading,

Listening to the music,

And drinking that hot chocolate,

But then they notice that person seems to be trying to get their attention,

And so they take one of the headphones out their ears,

And the person starts talking to them about the book,

Excitedly saying it's one of their favourite books,

And that they've never really seen someone else who reads it,

And so Leslie strikes up this conversation back,

Engaging in a conversation about the book,

Suddenly feeling a warmth inside that isn't from the hot chocolate,

Feeling a connection to someone,

And because this person struck up the conversation with them,

Rather than them trying to strike up a conversation with someone else,

They didn't have that nervousness,

That panicky feeling that they normally get,

When they think let's try and strike up a conversation with someone,

And as Leslie has nearly finished their hot chocolate,

This person asks do you want another,

I'll buy it,

And out of politeness they say yes,

And that person goes and gets them a hot chocolate,

And they carry on talking,

Initially about the book,

And then realise they have other things in common,

And Leslie gets so engrossed in this conversation,

That they begin to feel some kind of a connection,

For the first time in a long time,

They begin to experience having a relationship with someone,

Having a friendship with someone,

And after they've finished their drinks,

This person asks did they want to just go outside,

Get some fresh air,

Take a walk down to the local gardens,

And so together they walk through the street in this town,

They head down to the local gardens,

They find a bench in the local gardens,

They sit and talk,

They listen to the sounds of birds,

They engage in conversation,

And Leslie realises that they really like this person,

And they start to feel a bit nervous about whether or not to ask for their number,

But then the person seems to have somehow picked up on this,

And says I'll give you my number,

If you ever want to meet up,

Just have a chat,

Maybe go for a walk,

Enjoy the countryside,

All things Leslie knew that they liked,

And so they went home after this meeting with this person,

And this was the first time in a very long time,

That they'd actually met somebody,

Who they felt was on the same wavelength as them,

Who they felt that they could relate to,

And at this time of a year,

When normally everything around them feels good,

But at the same time,

Usually gives them a bit of a bitter taste in their mouth,

As they become aware of what they're missing,

For the first time they feel like they've got a connection with someone else,

And that they can build on that connection,

Spend time with that person,

Do things together,

Enjoying their company,

That for the first time in a long time,

They feel that they can give and receive attention with someone,

And that night they go to bed,

With a feeling of happiness,

Of hope,

And the next day,

They agreed to meet up with that person again,

To continue their conversations that they were having,

And they find that they really hit it off as friends,

And as they walk around the park again,

For a second day,

And sit on a bench in that park,

Just chatting and chatting,

Leslie begins to feel more confident,

And comfortable with engaging in conversation,

And finds that their social anxiety isn't so bad,

And the two of them spend time walking by the stream,

In this garden,

In the park,

Listening to the babbling water,

Hearing birds in the trees,

Talking,

Sharing their interests,

And Leslie feels that they've found a friend for life,

Even though it's only been a couple of days,

It's the first time they've really found this kind of connection,

And as Christmas nears,

Leslie's been spending a lot of time with this person,

And this person has been wanting to also spend that time with them,

And they've been round to Leslie's house,

And had a cup of tea at Leslie's,

And chatted,

And looked at Leslie's books,

And now Leslie has gone around to their house,

And they're making a meal,

For themselves,

For Leslie,

And for a couple of their friends,

That they feel Leslie would like,

That all think on the same kind of wavelength,

And share similar interests,

And Leslie's a bit nervous about meeting these other new people,

But there's something so kind and supportive about this new friend,

That makes them feel that they'll hopefully be perfectly fine,

And so they have a slight bit of nervousness there,

When they turn up at the house,

But when they're greeted at the door,

By the soppiest,

Most loving cat,

That just wants to climb on their lap,

And be stroked,

And then just sits there purring,

Relaxing,

They instantly find that stroking that cat,

Helps them to relax,

Deeper in the situation,

And then as the person's friends arrive,

And this person introduces Leslie,

And introduces the friends to Leslie,

The way they do so,

Just makes them feel so valued,

And helps them to feel like each relationship gets off to a good start,

And for the first time in years and years,

They find themselves enjoying a social occasion,

With about half a dozen other people,

Where these people start conversation,

And then are willing to be quiet,

And appear deeply interested,

And ask questions,

To follow up,

And show engagement,

And interest in what Leslie has to say,

Helping Leslie to feel valued,

And the conversations are all around topics,

That Leslie finds interesting,

They're not around topics,

That Leslie just wants to escape from,

And these people are able to hold conversations in a way,

That engages Leslie,

And gets Leslie to be thinking,

And considering answers,

And really deeply thinking about the topics,

Rather than just shallow conversation,

And Leslie leaves the evening meal,

Feeling like they'd gained something from that meal,

Like they'd gained more knowledge,

And also more curiosity around certain questions,

Which they can explore,

And they really wanted to meet up with these people again,

To continue these kinds of conversations,

And back at home,

Leslie began to contemplate,

And wonder about their experiences over the last couple of months,

About what it was that was different with forming these friendships,

Compared to failing to form any significant friendships in the past,

And they thought about the way that these friendships had arisen,

That some of the bits that caused them the most anxiety,

Like trying to socialise,

Trying to start conversations,

Trying to remain in conversations,

That they have no interest in,

Or no knowledge of,

None of this was present here,

The other person struck up the first conversation with them,

And it was about a topic they're interested in,

And although they were nervous at first,

And weren't particularly talkative,

The way the person had just been calm,

Quiet,

Listening,

Prompting,

Putting the focus on how they wanted to hear what Leslie had to say,

And that they were deeply interested in what Leslie had to say,

All somehow seemed to help,

And then meeting the new friends,

They weren't the one that walked in to a party full of people they didn't know,

They arrived,

And met with the one person they did know,

And were engaging with that person,

As gradually,

One by one,

The others turned up,

And as the others turned up,

Leslie was introduced in a way that made them feel special,

Made them feel like others would know them just from the introduction,

And they thought about how all of this helped to keep their anxiety levels low,

And then once they're in the middle of focusing externally,

Focusing on what others are saying,

With deep interest,

They didn't have time to be focusing on worrying,

Because when they were focusing internally,

It was to consider the points that had just been raised,

It was to consider new ideas,

New learnings,

New perspectives,

Around the topics they were talking about,

It wasn't to go inside their mind,

And worry about how they're coming across,

Or have some other kind of worry,

And they didn't do this on purpose,

Something about the situation,

The level of engagement,

The talking about topics they're deeply interested in,

Made it so that they just happened to do this naturally,

Instinctively,

Finding that something about finding the right group of friends,

Really helped them to reduce stress,

Reduce anxiety,

Reduce worry,

And they knew that they're still not yet in a place where they could just walk into somewhere and try and strike up a conversation and build friendships,

They're not in a place where they're comfortable engaging in conversations with work colleagues,

Or being the centre of attention,

But they are more comfortable with engaging in conversations with this new circle of friends,

And as they think about how this will make the future go different,

They go to bed,

And relax down feeling these pleasant thoughts,

And ideas,

And they drift and float,

Comfortably and relaxed,

Asleep.

Reviews

I really like your stories. I listen every single night.