Hey there,
Thank you so much for listening in today.
Before we go to sleep and before we listen to this new story,
I would like to invite you to go and lay down comfortable,
In whatever position that you prefer.
Take your time to stuff your pillow a bit,
Maybe lay under the blankets,
Nice and cozy and warm,
And let's check in with ourselves for a minute.
And I'm going to ask you a question that might be a bit weird,
But let's just go with it and see what comes up.
So my question for you tonight is,
How are you feeling?
And I don't mean that in the way of people asking you on the street like,
How are you?
I'm talking about,
What is going on in your body?
How are you actually feeling?
How was today?
Were you happy?
Were you interested?
Were you scared maybe?
Were you a bit angry?
Maybe you felt sad?
What emotions can you name that you have experienced today or possibly even right now?
You don't have to give me an answer,
This is just for you to think like,
Hey,
What did I feel today?
And how am I feeling right now?
Suppose you're laying here in bed ready to sleep and if you don't know,
If you don't know what you're feeling,
A wonderful thing that can help you with that is to pay attention to what you're thinking about.
Usually our thoughts are the key to our feelings.
If you,
For example,
Notice that you are having a negative thought about someone,
Usually that means that in your body you might not be feeling super positive.
Maybe something happened today,
Maybe you were jealous and to feel that can be difficult but what you can do is notice the thought that came up and realize,
Hey,
What I thought today,
That's not who I want to be,
That was jealousy.
I choose to be happy because I realized that there is enough for everyone.
And notice how this is just an example but what do you think would happen if you were to pay more attention to your thoughts because your thoughts make you aware of what you feel and realize that everything that you feel is okay.
I'm curious to know what comes up for you when you sit down or lay down and just ask yourself,
What am I feeling today?
I hope that's bringing you a bit of,
This might be a difficult word,
Awareness and if you're done and if you feel like you're ready to listen to this short bedtime story,
Let's start off by taking a deep breath,
Being aware of our breath.
I am going to count to three and when I'm at three,
We'll both take a deep breath in through our nose,
Fully filling up our belly and then our chest and then feeling our shoulders going up and holding the breath for four seconds.
I'm going to count for you and when we're at four,
We're going to release the breath in a big sigh of relief,
Letting our shoulders falling down,
Feeling our belly becoming smaller and releasing all the air out of your body.
Are you ready?
One,
Two,
Three,
Fill up,
Fill up and hold,
One,
Two,
Three,
Four and let it all go.
This is a simple practice that you can do each day to feel a bit more relaxed and to become aware of what's going on,
Especially when you have trouble falling asleep,
It can be very helpful to take a big sigh of relief and when you're ready,
Feel free to listen to the rest of this story about Gracie.
Mommy,
Sometimes I feel like having a hug but I'm too afraid to ask for it.
In those moments,
It feels as if I'm super demanding or at least just a bit.
Mama looked Gracie straight into her bunny eyes and said,
Let me tell you a story but first get comfy in your bed.
You know,
My sweet Gracie,
Mama started,
I used to have this too,
Did she say,
Warm hearted.
When I was an adult bunny,
Living in the woods,
Carefree,
I always put other bunnies first and I never considered me.
That's not a bad thing,
Mommy,
I think that's super kind.
I want to be just like you because then everyone will like me,
That's what I'll find.
Mama bunny interrupted Gracie fast,
There is a balance to this,
Gracie,
And that is what I never realized in the past.
When you're always there for other bunnies and you forget to think about your own need,
It matters to you if others are doing well,
If they are loved and if they succeed,
But you are forgetting that that is never your duty,
Being yourself and focusing on that,
That's where you'll find true beauty.
It is easy to change yourself so other bunnies will like you for sure,
But as a result you'll lose yourself in them and sooner or later you will not be pure.
I never learned to make decisions based on what I wanted and so I spent my childhood pleasing others being haunted.
A few years ago I had a bunny boyfriend,
Steve,
Who really liked to swim and every time I did not go with him he would turn very grim.
I did not like to swim,
But I also did not want Steve to leave.
And so,
I did what I was told all because his smile is what I wanted to receive.
In the end,
Things between me and Steve never worked out,
I left him and your father was who I found.
Your bunny father also likes to swim,
But it was never a problem when I did not want to go with him.
Your daddy taught me to choose myself again,
He taught me that I am a bunny that can be loved for who I am.
Whether I like to swim,
Paint or want a hug on a rainy day,
Your dad will be there for me and never go away.
Sometimes I look back upon the small bunny version of me who didn't make choices from her heart like swimming in the sea.
That little me just wanted a hug and to be understood and the me right now is the one who would love to change that if she could.
I regret that I didn't listen to the voice inside me that taught me about right or wrong,
If I could undo it all I would probably be even more strong.
So,
Mommy,
Gracie said after the long moment of silence slipped away,
Are you saying I should just trust in myself no matter what others say?
Yes,
Gracie,
If you want a hug,
Just ask,
If you want a kiss,
Just say so,
If you want to paint,
Just grab a brush and if you want to play outside,
Just go.
Never let anyone who does not take your best needs as his tell you what to do for you will miss out on the beautiful bunny that you are meant to be.
You are unconditionally loved,
Do you know what that means?
Gracie shook her head.
That means that you can hug,
You can cry,
You can laugh or you can be angry through and through.
No matter who you decide to be or what you decide to do,
I will always love you.
Yes,
And I think sometimes I'm afraid that that's not true,
But thank you for saying that mommy,
I love you too.
That sounds like music to my ears,
I will stuff your pillow and get you ready for bed.
Now softly close your eyes and have sweet dreams my love,
Mama bunny said.
I hope you enjoyed that little story about loving yourself and being yourself.
If there's anything that you are afraid to do or say or ask,
Just realize that no matter what,
The people around you,
They love you.
And sometimes,
You know,
When you do something that mama warned you not to do,
It might be difficult to remember that she loves you,
But she does.
And maybe they don't say it that often,
But just know that you are surrounded by people who love you.
And even if it's all so bad,
Let's say there's no one around you that loves you,
You can always choose to love yourself.
Because that's where a lot of my freedom comes from.
That's where a lot of my happiness comes from.
Because I can choose to be happy.
I choose to love myself.
And so I will always be loved because the person who's always with me is me.
And the same goes for you.
If ever you feel like you're alone,
Just remember that you always have yourself.
And if you can love yourself for who you are without changing anything,
Without wanting to be better,
Without striving to be perfect,
That's when you'll be truly happy.
If you can unconditionally,
The word that we just learned,
Love yourself and remember that you are unconditionally loved,
You'll have a magical life waiting for you.
I'm curious what you learned from this little story or from what I said,
And I'm curious about your thoughts on this.
I would love to know whether maybe you thought it was too difficult,
Maybe you thought it was boring,
Or maybe you really liked it and are excited to go to bed and dream.
I'm very curious about your thoughts and thank you very much for listening.
