Mostly Mowed: a calming story and meditation

0:05 [SPEAKER_00]: Hello Away Islanders, we're so glad you're here. [SPEAKER_00]: Let's see if you have everything you want to be calm on Away Island. [SPEAKER_00]: Are the lights in your room dim or off? [SPEAKER_00]: Do you have your favorite blanket or listening buddy? [SPEAKER_00]: Before we begin our story, [SPEAKER_00]: Let's relax by taking a deep dragon breath, breathe in through your nose, filling up your lungs, and then out through your mouth, imagining you are breathing fire like a dragon.

0:53 [SPEAKER_00]: Okay, deep breath in and out. [SPEAKER_00]: good. [SPEAKER_00]: Imagine you are a graceful willow tree, swang in a gentle breeze. [SPEAKER_00]: Pretend your feet are the roots of the willow tree. [SPEAKER_00]: Feel your roots stretched through the grass and into the [SPEAKER_00]: and you feel safe and secure in the earth's embrace.

1:45 [SPEAKER_00]: Take a deep dragon breath in and out. [SPEAKER_00]: Think of your legs, tummy, and neck. [SPEAKER_00]: As the trunk of the willow tree, warm energy flows up from the earth into your roots and up through your trunk. [SPEAKER_00]: Now pretend that your arms and head are flexible, leafy, willow branches, imagine them swinging [SPEAKER_00]: as you take one more, deep, dragon breath in and out.

2:54 [SPEAKER_00]: Great job, everyone. [SPEAKER_00]: I hope you are tucked in nice and cozy. [SPEAKER_00]: And now, we're ready to begin our story. [SPEAKER_00]: Let's be calm on our way island. [SPEAKER_00]: Our story today is mostly mode. [SPEAKER_00]: Warm morning sunlight slipped through the narrow spaces around the doors of Moira Moira's storage shed.

3:39 [SPEAKER_00]: The bright green writing moor blinked awake, wondering what the day had in store for her. [SPEAKER_00]: She listened to the sounds coming from outside, trying to figure out what the weather [SPEAKER_00]: And she did not hear any rain tapping on the shed's metal roof. [SPEAKER_00]: Plus, the light coming in from the doors seemed bright and golden.

4:13 [SPEAKER_00]: Moira smiled. [SPEAKER_00]: It was shaping up to be a perfect day for mowing. [SPEAKER_00]: Soon, the shed doors swung open, flooding the little building with sunshine. [SPEAKER_00]: Moira's driver stepped inside, checked her over, climbed into the seat, and turned the key. [SPEAKER_00]: Moira's engine hummed to life, and her driver steered the little moor out of the shed, where a transport truck was waiting nearby.

4:50 [SPEAKER_00]: Moira's driver lowered the ramp, then guided Moira up onto the back of the truck. [SPEAKER_00]: Once Moira was safely secured, her driver climbed down and got into the trucks cab to drive them to their first job. [SPEAKER_00]: As they traveled down the road, Moira tried to guess where they were going.

5:15 [SPEAKER_00]: She always enjoyed the beginning of a work day. [SPEAKER_00]: She never knew exactly where she and her driver would go first. [SPEAKER_00]: Maybe today they would move the baseball field, or train the grass around at the bite trails. [SPEAKER_00]: Wherever they went, Moira always loved watching tall grass turn into meat freshly cut rose.

5:43 [SPEAKER_00]: She especially liked being able to look behind her and see exactly what she had accomplished. [SPEAKER_00]: Eventually, Moira puzzled out what route they were on. [SPEAKER_00]: Moira was pleased. [SPEAKER_00]: The library grounds were a little more complicated than the baseball field. [SPEAKER_00]: But that was part of what made them interesting.

6:16 [SPEAKER_00]: There were several grassy areas, along with walkways, benches, trees, and flower beds. [SPEAKER_00]: The tall glass windows in the center of the library sparkled in the morning sun, as Moira was guided out of the transport truck. [SPEAKER_00]: A few people were already coming and going through the entrance.

6:50 [SPEAKER_00]: Near the oval-shaped drop-off area, someone sat on a bench reading a book beneath the flags that fluttered in the breeze. [SPEAKER_00]: Her driver steered Moira onto the first open section of grass and lowered the moor blades. [SPEAKER_00]: Moira settled happily into the familiar rhythm as her spinning blades clipped through the grass beneath her.

7:20 [SPEAKER_00]: Clip, clip, clip. [SPEAKER_00]: she moved forward in a long straight row. [SPEAKER_00]: At the end her driver turned her around and guided her back the other way. [SPEAKER_00]: back and forth. [SPEAKER_00]: Back and forth. [SPEAKER_00]: Moira trimmed the lawn in tidy lines. [SPEAKER_00]: The grass ahead of her was a little tall and shaggy, while the grass behind her became short and even.

7:52 [SPEAKER_00]: The fresh green scent of cut grass filled the air. [SPEAKER_00]: Moira loved that smell almost as much as she loved seeing the meat pattern up here. [SPEAKER_00]: The little Moira was having an excellent morning. [SPEAKER_00]: As her driver steered her around the corner of the building, Moira saw something unexpected by the sidewalk that passed the library.

8:21 [SPEAKER_00]: There was a folding table set up in the grass, with a hand-made sign take to it. [SPEAKER_00]: bright yellow smiling suns had been drawn around a big black word written in all capital letters that spelled out lemonade. [SPEAKER_00]: A child and an adult stood behind the table with a picture of lemonade and a stack of cups in front of them.

8:53 [SPEAKER_00]: some library patrons were already stopping to visit the stand to purchase a refreshing drink. [SPEAKER_00]: Moira smiled at the site. [SPEAKER_00]: A lemonade stand was a great idea for a sunny day like today. [SPEAKER_00]: Then, Moira realized that she and her driver were headed in that direction.

9:18 [SPEAKER_00]: The table had been set up in the grass she was supposed to moat today. [SPEAKER_00]: Moira wondered what her driver would do. [SPEAKER_00]: As they approached the lemonade stand, the driver slowed down and turned Moira well before reaching the table. [SPEAKER_00]: They made a wide path around the stand, leaving plenty of space between Moira spinning blades and the people nearby.

9:51 [SPEAKER_00]: Moira understood. [SPEAKER_00]: Of course they could not mow close enough to eliminate stand while people were standing around it. [SPEAKER_00]: It would not be safe. [SPEAKER_00]: She figured they would come [SPEAKER_00]: Moira's driver continued across the rest of the lawn. [SPEAKER_00]: Back and forth they went, creating more meat rows of freshly cut grass.

10:24 [SPEAKER_00]: Moira hardly thought about the area they had skipped because there was still plenty of work to do. [SPEAKER_00]: But as the rest of the lawn's grass was cut, the tall patch around the lemonade stand became more noticeable in comparison. [SPEAKER_00]: Every time her driver turned her around, [SPEAKER_00]: Moira tried to focus on the work in front of her, but that one tall patch kept nudging at the back of her mind.

11:06 [SPEAKER_00]: The little moar wondered when they would be able to finish that last section. [SPEAKER_00]: Eventually, there was nowhere else on the library grounds left to moar. [SPEAKER_00]: Moira expected her driver to turn them back toward the lemonade stand, but instead, the more blades lifted away from the grass.

11:32 [SPEAKER_00]: Her driver steered Moira toward the transport truck, and began guiding her up the ramp [SPEAKER_00]: Moira was surprised. [SPEAKER_00]: They were leaving. [SPEAKER_00]: She looked back at the library lawn. [SPEAKER_00]: Nearly all of it was short and neatly trimmed, except for the large patch of tall grass surrounding the lemonade stand.

12:01 [SPEAKER_00]: The stand was still busy with people coming and going, so Moira knew her driver couldn't [SPEAKER_00]: But surely, they could wait until the place emptied. [SPEAKER_00]: The little moor couldn't believe they were leaving a section untrimmed. [SPEAKER_00]: as they drove away from the library, Moira felt unsettled.

12:28 [SPEAKER_00]: She knew her driver had made the safe choice, and she certainly did not want anyone to get hurt. [SPEAKER_00]: Still, Moira liked finishing her work, and knowing that one part of the lawn remained unruly bothered her. [SPEAKER_00]: for the rest of the afternoon, Moira and her driver visited several other grassy areas.

12:56 [SPEAKER_00]: Moira tried to enjoy the familiar work of mowing, but her thoughts kept returning to the library lawn. [SPEAKER_00]: Whenever she finished another neat row, she pictured the tall grass around the lemonade [SPEAKER_00]: The more she thought about it, the more uncomfortable she felt. [SPEAKER_00]: On and on, she rumanated about that last patch of grass.

13:28 [SPEAKER_00]: While we realized that she was becoming more and more tense, the longer she thought about the library long. [SPEAKER_00]: She did not want the unfinished patch to spoil the rest of her workday. [SPEAKER_00]: So when her driver took a break, she decided to take a moment to calm herself. [SPEAKER_00]: Moira took a deep dragon breath in and out.

14:12 [SPEAKER_00]: As she breathed out, some of the tightness inside her began to ease. [SPEAKER_00]: She took another deep dragon breath in and out. [SPEAKER_00]: her spinning thoughts began to slow down. [SPEAKER_00]: Then, Moira took one final deep dragon breath in and out. [SPEAKER_00]: Now that she was less tense, Moira noticed something.

15:13 [SPEAKER_00]: She had spent much of the afternoon thinking about that patch of grass, but all that worrying had not helped her feel any better. [SPEAKER_00]: In fact, it had made her feel worse. [SPEAKER_00]: Moira decided to remind herself of what was true. [SPEAKER_00]: The library lawn was not completely finished, and she wished that it were.

15:51 [SPEAKER_00]: But there had not been a safe way to mow around the busy lemonade stand, and there was nothing she could do to change that right now. [SPEAKER_00]: Moira returned to mowing with a calmer mind. [SPEAKER_00]: The unfinished patch still bothered her, but whenever it came back into her thoughts, she reminded herself that she had to wait until another time to finish it.

16:24 [SPEAKER_00]: She did not have to solve the problem today. [SPEAKER_00]: By evening, Moira had finished her work, and her driver returned her to the storage shed. [SPEAKER_00]: Once her engine was off, Moira settled her wheels comfortably against the concrete floor, and you aww! [SPEAKER_00]: It had been a busy day, and it was time for some rest.

17:00 [SPEAKER_00]: As the sunlight grew dimmer, Moira thought about everything she had to be grateful for. [SPEAKER_00]: She felt grateful for all the hard work she had done that day. [SPEAKER_00]: Moira took a deep dragon breath in and out. [SPEAKER_00]: feeling grateful for the community on Awe Island. [SPEAKER_00]: It was nice to see the lemonade stand by the library, and Moira was grateful her driver had kept everyone safe by not mowing near them, even though that left a patch of unmode grass.

18:04 [SPEAKER_00]: She still wished they had been able to finish the job. [SPEAKER_00]: But she knew she did not have to keep thinking about it tonight. [SPEAKER_00]: The little more relaxed and took another deep dragon breath in and out. [SPEAKER_00]: then one last deep dragon breath in and out. [SPEAKER_00]: Moir is mind-quieted, and she drifted peacefully to sleep, dreaming of long green lawns, and neat rows of freshly cut grass.

19:17 [SPEAKER_00]: Thank you for joining us to be calm on our way island. [SPEAKER_00]: See you next time.