Hello and welcome to an amazing night's sleep.
Thank you for being here for another in the series of bedtime tales,
Written by June B and narrated by me,
Ruben.
Today's bedtime tale is called Driving Through the Country,
And we'll be doing exactly the same.
Let's get into this.
Allow yourself to find your favourite sleeping position,
Making sure you are comfortable.
Allowing your eyes to relax,
Your muscles to relax,
And imagining that your body is melting into the bed.
Now let's get in touch with that familiar friend,
The companion that's always here for you.
You're breathing the rhythm of the breath,
Slowing down the heart rate and taking some time in connecting with the breath in this way.
The heart rate drops and the breathing itself nourishes your wellbeing.
Breathing the in-breath,
Noticing the out-breath.
Breathing in and watching this.
Breathing out and watching this.
The sound of your in-breath,
The sound of your out-breath.
The temperature of your in-breath.
The temperature of your out-breath.
The cool air as it comes in.
The warm air as it leaves.
This time breathing in and breathing out in preparation for our bedtime story.
Nice and settle.
Nice and comfortable.
Letting go of everything that happened today and allowing yourself to relax right here and now more and more as this story unfolds.
And if your mind wanders,
That's part and parcel of a wandering mind,
Bringing it back to the sound of my voice.
And if you wish you can use your breath as an anchor.
Slow and steady.
Let's go on this journey together.
I have had a busy week and it's time for me to wind down and relax for a bit.
One of the ways I love to relax is to go out into nature and chill.
It is such a great place to go and just be.
It's also super grounding.
Today I am going to visit an open space that I have not been to in a while and I've got to pop into the car to get there.
I'm also taking a route I am not really familiar with so this will be an adventure for sure.
Are you ready to hop in the car with me?
And we'll get going.
Look at this beautiful countryside.
Bring yourself to imagine with me.
The road first of all doesn't have too many cars and I'm navigating my car along these wide and very windy roads.
It looks like they've recently been paved because there is not a bump or hump in sight.
Do you remember the days when you used to drive and actually enjoy it?
Before all the speed cameras,
Traffic lights every two seconds,
The speed humps,
The road calming measures,
Which is a way of making the road so narrow that only one car can fit through at a time.
All the fun seems to have been sucked out of going for a nice drive,
Right?
Well not today.
Today we are in the car with the music gently playing in the background.
Windows down and looking at each new approaching bend with wild abandon and an excitement of a little kid.
Oh what fun there is to have cruising down the road.
We forgot.
If I was a dog I would stick my tongue out of the window and let it flap in the breeze.
I always thought that it was such a fun way to view the world through vision and smell.
It also means that their tongue is an instant air conditioner cooling them down with every gentle flap in the breeze.
So as we get around this bend we see the trees get thicker and thicker,
Almost as if they are hugging the road for a section,
Telling the road,
Hey you,
Come and get a hug because you look like you need it.
Sometimes I ask my daughter for a hug.
She gives me that look that says why now,
But then she opens her arms and draws me in and in the embrace I smile and say I asked for a hug because I need it right now.
This is how this section of the road looks,
Just like it needs a hug.
Because the trees are getting thicker,
The light is less and less and it feels like we are actually going into the depths of a deep dark forest.
Hold on,
Let me clean my windscreen so I can see a little bit better.
Ah,
That's better.
Oh I can see a few people passing me in their cars.
Maybe they're doing the same thing,
Taking the time to go out on an adventure with their cars and ever expanding space that lies before them.
That is magic,
Not knowing where you're really going and feeling happy anyway.
How many times have you gone somewhere without really knowing where you were going?
I don't tend to do that very often,
Although this time I'm taking a route I'm not that familiar with as I said before.
Even though I do know where it will end up,
Kind of,
I'm travelling a different path,
A longer drive with you just for the fun of it.
You know what they say,
It's not the destination that matters,
It's the journey that is important.
The journey is the destination,
And we're on this together.
We spend the majority of our time making the journey and only a little time once we are actually there.
So enjoying this journey wherever it leads us is definitely the best option.
The trees have lightened up now,
It was becoming a deep dark forest,
But now things are definitely getting lighter.
To the right I can see the sea.
The cool breeze that comes off the water is a completely different smell from the smell inland on your side.
There is a freshness to the air,
And we can almost taste the salt in the air.
Lovely.
How about we pull over for a minute and just look at that beautiful water.
Wow,
This place where we've pulled over is the best.
Look at the beauty of this scene.
The beach is quite rocky.
Although there are many people enjoying it at this time,
And man look at the different shades of blue that are in the sea.
It's amazing.
I wonder how many different shades of blue there actually are.
I read somewhere that there are so many different shades of blue,
And this makes sense because as we look onto the water right now,
We can probably see about 50 right?
I can hear those seagulls overhead,
And the sound of the waves in the distance.
What a beautiful sight to see.
Let's stay here for a while.
What do you think?
Let's take in all this beauty that is surrounding us in this moment,
And then when we're ready,
We can get back in the car and continue the destination,
Which is the journey.
Taking the time to appreciate the majesty that surrounds us.
Such a great way to spend some time connecting,
Relaxing,
And feeling at peace.
What a beautiful life we have right here,
Right now.
I'm not sure about you,
But I'm getting sleepy even thinking about it.
Maybe we should put the seats back,
Sit back in the car overlooking this view,
And gently allow ourselves to rest,
Recharge,
Restore.
And then we'll continue our journey.
It's amazing what a little nap can do for us when we allow our bodies to take over.
Thank you for joining us tonight.
And as we slowly drift away,
Have yourself an amazing night's sleep.
And we're looking forward to seeing you again for another in the series of bedtime tales with myself,
Reuben,
And June B.
Good night.
