Hello and welcome!
Shelly Mermaid here.
Would you like to listen to my mindful story about Finn the Merman and how he learned to be brave?
Great.
Go ahead and find a safe place to lie down.
Go ahead and lay on your back with your arms at your sides,
Palms facing up.
That's comfy,
Isn't it?
Okay,
Great job.
Are you already comfy and lying down?
Perfect.
Okay,
Let's begin by talking about Finn the Merman and his fear of the dark.
For some reason that Finn didn't understand,
He was always so,
So scared of the dark.
Anytime it got dark outside,
He would tremble in fear and he would lie down in his bed and all he could think about were what kinds of scary monsters might be hiding there.
He was so,
So afraid.
He was so afraid that he wouldn't even sleep sometimes because he would just tremble and cry.
One day he was hanging out with Little Lily,
His mermaid friend,
And they were playing a game.
Little Lily turned out the lights because she had a fun glow-in-the-dark shell that she wanted to show him.
She did not know that Finn was afraid of the dark and was very surprised when he started crying.
What's wrong?
She asked.
Finn trembled and shook and finally was able to say that he wanted her to turn the lights back on.
I'm afraid.
Little Lily quickly turned the lights back on and it went from pitch dark to being able to see her sparkly pink tail again.
He was so happy to see that sparkly pink tail.
Little Lily said to Finn,
I have an idea.
Why don't you do some breathing?
Okay everyone,
Why don't we all do the breathing together?
Finn and Little Lily took a deep breath in and let it all out.
Let's do it two more times together,
Okay?
Big breath in and think of all the things that make you happy and let it out and let go of anything that makes you scared.
One more time,
Breathe in and breathe out.
Why don't you put one hand on your heart and one hand on your tummy?
Finn's heart was racing.
Do you feel your heart beating under your fingers?
Sometimes when we're scared,
Our heart beats faster.
Little Lily explained to Finn that the trick to slowing down our heartbeat back to normal is to breathe deeply and slowly.
It worked,
But also Finn wasn't afraid anymore because the lights were on.
Little Lily asked Finn why he was afraid of the dark.
He shrugged and said,
I can't see if there's monsters.
Little Lily said,
There aren't any monsters.
Finn knew this was true,
But he still couldn't explain why he was scared.
Sometimes we're scared for good reasons,
Like if we aren't in a safe situation.
And sometimes we're scared for no reason at all.
It's okay if you can't explain why you're scared,
But deep breathing will help no matter what.
When our breathing and heartbeat slow down,
Our brains start working better and we can come up with healthy solutions.
Little Lily asked if Finn wanted to be brave and practice.
He decided that as long as she held his hand,
He was willing to face his fear of the dark.
Let's pretend to do this with them,
Okay?
So Little Lily counted down,
Three,
Two,
One,
And the lights went out.
Finn felt the panic setting in again.
His heart started to beat so fast he couldn't think straight,
Ba-bum,
Ba-bum,
Ba-bum,
Ba-bum.
Then Little Lily reminded him to breathe like she does when she's scared.
Let's do it all together,
Okay?
Breathe in,
And let it out.
Again breathe in,
Focus on your breath and nothing else,
And breathe out.
Breathe in,
Feel your tummy rise up with air,
And breathe out,
Feel it going down.
Breathe in,
Feel your heart beating,
And breathe out,
Feel it slowing down and relaxing with each deep breath.
Wow,
Said Finn from the dark.
My brain doesn't feel confused anymore.
I have an idea.
Suddenly a tiny lamp went on in the corner of the room.
A night light,
Finn said.
Once I was feeling more calm,
I remembered that there was a night light in here.
I'm still afraid of the dark,
But those deep breaths helped me feel brave and find something that helped me feel better.
Little Lily smiled with pride.
She loved being able to help her friend find courage in fear.
They both felt more calm and centered.
What about you?
How do you feel after mindful breathing?
Little Lily said,
Okay Finn,
Now maybe you can help me get Prince Davide Dolphin to face his fear.
Finn said,
Sure,
What's Davide afraid of?
Then Little Lily said something that made them both laugh.
He's afraid of mustard.
Well,
Whatever it is that makes you feel afraid.
Just remember what helped Little Lily and Finn.
Deep breaths.
I'm so happy we could learn something new about ways to handle fear today.
Thanks so much for listening.
Take one more big breath and stretch.
Open your eyes.
And that's all for now.
See you next time.
