It was the night before bedtime,
And all through the house,
Every creature was stirring,
Cat,
Dog,
Person,
And even the mouse,
And maybe a guinea pig or two.
All the socks were still in the dryer,
Still waiting to be folded and put away with care,
With hopes that sweet dreams would soon be near.
It was time to start the nighttime get ready for bed routine,
Brushing our teeth,
Changing our clothes,
Turning off the lights and fluffing the pillows.
As we climb into bed with thoughts running wild in our head from the day,
Sometimes it's hard to make all these thoughts hush and just go away.
I once tried counting sheep to fall fast asleep at night,
But stopped after 92,
Still nowhere near being tired.
Instead of counting sheep,
Let's try counting maple leaves instead.
Imagine the maple tree as she stands above us,
Giving us shelter in our beds.
Let's count the leaves as blessings of all the sweet things in life.
Even when things are challenging,
Difficult,
Or hard,
There are always one or two blessings of care that come into our mind.
Focus on what we have in life instead of focusing on what we cannot keep.
Maple tree teaches about the sweetness of life,
Of the things in our lives that truly do matter.
She helps shift our thinking from pain into ease,
And carries our thoughts out to the universe at night when we sleep,
So we can rest and find deep peace.
With each maple leaf that we count,
We exchange a burden with a blessing.
Now is the time to start sharing with maple trees.
Who will be the one singing us to sleep?
Tell her now of the burdens that are on your mind,
So that she can hold them for you all through the night.
I will give you some time now to share these thoughts with her.
Speak these things out loud so she can hear the worries that you are carrying on your mind.
She will be able to hear your worries that you are carrying on your heart.
Okay,
Ready,
Now start.
Take a deep breath,
Inhaling in,
And now exhale your breath out.
Feel maple tree carry these burdens temporarily away,
A weight lifted off of your chest into her arms so now you can rest.
With burdens lifted right before bedtime,
Now speak of the blessings that you have,
One,
Two,
Or three,
And share these blessings out loud with our maple tree.
Tell her the things that you love in your life,
Things you are grateful for,
Each leaf that makes your life bright.
Go ahead now share these blessings out loud.
Maple tree is listening with branches open wide.
So now maple tree,
Who is your friend and a tree of strength,
Holds both your burdens and blessings from the day.
Take another deep breath in and close your eyes.
Imagine that maple tree's branches are lifting up to the sky,
Connecting with the stars,
The moon,
And all that is bright.
And as you get sleepy,
Begin to find rest.
Get a good night's sleep,
Knowing you'll be cared for and watched over while you find peace in the night.
The stars will be singing all during the night a gentle song of dreams with maple tree who will join in humming along.
Branches and leaves,
Stars and moons,
And the stars and moon,
Now all created from the stories that we have shared tonight,
All gathered together from our intertwined lives.
Keep counting the leaves,
The blessings there are,
And a peaceful sleep to you all and to all a good night.
Sweet dreams.
Good night.
