Ep 921. Raccoon Roses: a relaxing short story and meditation

Ep 921. Raccoon Roses: a relaxing short story and meditation

Released Monday, 31st March 2025
Good episode? Give it some love!
Ep 921. Raccoon Roses: a relaxing short story and meditation

Ep 921. Raccoon Roses: a relaxing short story and meditation

Ep 921. Raccoon Roses: a relaxing short story and meditation

Ep 921. Raccoon Roses: a relaxing short story and meditation

Monday, 31st March 2025
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Episode Transcript

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0:00

Hello, Awe Islanders.

0:02

Did you know

0:05

that our past

0:07

episodes are available

0:10

on Patreon?

0:12

That's right.

0:15

Our patron

0:18

membership includes

0:21

access to

0:24

hundreds of

0:27

past episodes.

0:30

Opportunities to

0:32

suggest story

0:35

ideas. That's

0:38

P-A-T-R-E-O-A-W-Iland. That's

0:42

PATREON.None

0:48

com,

0:50

forward

0:53

slash

0:55

A-way Island.

1:00

Let's see if you

1:02

have everything you want

1:05

to be calm on away

1:07

island Are the lights

1:09

in your room dim or

1:11

off? Do you have your

1:13

favorite blanket or

1:16

listening buddy? Before

1:19

we begin our story

1:22

Let's relax by

1:24

taking a nice

1:26

deep dragon breath

1:29

Breathe in through your

1:31

nose, filling up

1:33

your lungs, and

1:36

then out through your

1:38

mouth, imagining you

1:41

are breathing fire

1:43

like a dragon.

1:45

Ready? Deep breath,

1:47

in and out. Great

2:01

job. Imagine you

2:03

are relaxing on

2:06

soft sand. The

2:08

grains sparkle in

2:10

the sunshine. Cup

2:12

your hand, pretending

2:15

to scoop up

2:17

some warm sand.

2:19

Now let your

2:21

fingers open. and

2:24

imagine the smooth

2:26

sand flowing through

2:28

your fingers onto

2:30

the ground. Relax

2:33

in the safe

2:35

and supportive hug

2:37

of the soft,

2:39

warm sand and

2:42

take a deep

2:44

dragon breath in

2:46

and out. Now

2:59

imagine drawing a

3:02

tiny circle in

3:04

the sand. Swirl

3:06

it around to

3:09

draw another circle,

3:11

a little bigger,

3:13

and then another

3:16

a little smaller.

3:18

You feel cozy

3:20

and loved. And

3:23

you draw a

3:25

heart shape. in

3:27

the smooth sand.

3:30

Now your entire

3:32

body feels calm

3:34

and completely relaxed.

3:37

You feel safe

3:39

and warm as

3:41

you take one

3:44

more deep dragon

3:46

breath in and

3:48

out. Great

4:00

job everyone. I

4:02

hope you are

4:04

tucked in nice

4:07

and cozy. Now

4:09

we're ready to

4:11

begin our story.

4:13

Let's be calm

4:15

on Awe Island.

4:17

Our story today.

4:19

is raccoon roses.

4:21

Sunshine poked through

4:24

the snowy branches

4:26

of the pine

4:28

tree, covering the

4:30

ground in a

4:32

delicate lace of

4:34

light. As a

4:36

sunbeam flickered in

4:39

front of her

4:41

eyes, Ballet Bunny

4:43

woke up, stretched

4:45

her legs, and

4:47

wiggled her ears.

4:49

She felt ready

4:51

to start the

4:53

day. The

4:55

little bunny looked out

4:58

from under the shelter

5:00

of the cozy pine

5:02

and grind. The world

5:04

was quiet, white, and

5:06

sparkly. Snow had fallen

5:08

yesterday, and Ballet had

5:10

used the fresh blanket

5:13

to recreate her garden

5:15

of snow roses. Some

5:17

were big, round blooms,

5:19

and some were little

5:21

buds. but they all

5:23

stood in a circle

5:26

around her tree. Ballet

5:28

loved looking at her

5:30

snowy roses. They reminded

5:32

her of summer. As

5:34

Ballet gazed at them,

5:36

she imagined the warmth

5:38

of the sun on

5:41

her fur, the soft

5:43

petals brushing against her

5:45

nose, and the sweet

5:47

scent filling the air.

5:49

Even though winter was

5:51

cold. Her snow roses

5:53

shimmered in the morning

5:56

light, just as lovely

5:58

as real flowers. Ballet

6:01

took a

6:03

deep dragon

6:06

breath in

6:08

and out.

6:11

Her ears

6:13

floated down

6:15

as she

6:18

relaxed, enjoying

6:20

the quiet

6:22

moment. Just

6:25

then, crack.

6:28

Belly heard the sound

6:30

of a twig snapping

6:32

behind her. The little

6:34

bunny's ears popped straight

6:36

up again. Something was

6:38

moving nearby. Belly hopped

6:40

around to find the

6:42

source of the sound.

6:44

She turned to find

6:46

three little black and

6:48

white faces looking at

6:50

her. It was her

6:53

raccoon friends. Rebel, Riley,

6:55

and Rob. High

6:57

ballet, called Rebel. I hope

6:59

we didn't startle you. The

7:01

little bunny smiled at the

7:04

trio. Well, well, just a

7:06

little, she admitted. The raccoons

7:08

looked around at the ring

7:10

of snow roses with admiration.

7:12

We love the roses around

7:15

your tree, said Rebel. Riley

7:17

nodded. They're beautiful. They're beautiful.

7:19

They're beautiful. They're beautiful. They're

7:21

beautiful. They're beautiful. They're beautiful.

7:24

They're beautiful. They're beautiful. They're

7:26

beautiful. They're beautiful. They're beautiful.

7:28

They're beautiful. They're beautiful. They're

7:30

beautiful. They're beautiful. They're beautiful.

7:33

They're beautiful. They're beautiful. They're

7:35

beautiful. They're beautiful. They're beautiful.

7:37

They're beautiful. They're beautiful. They're

7:39

beautiful. They're beautiful. He added,

7:41

did you make them? Ballet

7:44

smiled with pride and nodded.

7:46

Wow, Rob said, can you

7:48

show us how? Ballet wiggled

7:50

her nose happily and said,

7:53

Shashur, I'd love to shasho

7:55

you. The raccoons cheered with

7:57

excitement. With that. The three

7:59

raccoons scampered out from under

8:02

the pine tree and beckoned

8:04

for the little bunny to

8:06

follow. Ballet hopped behind them.

8:08

Before long, they reached the

8:10

raccoon's den in a hollowed-out

8:13

log. Ballet admired their ingenuity.

8:15

This tree may have fallen

8:17

long ago, but it was

8:19

still part of the forest

8:22

ecosystem, providing warmth and protection.

8:24

Even in winter, it made

8:26

a cozy shelter. You

8:29

have a lovely home, said

8:31

Ballet. Riley grinned. Thanks, Ballet.

8:34

We think it's a nice

8:36

home too. Rebels spun in

8:39

a circle, looking around at

8:41

the snow. So where should

8:44

we put our roses, he

8:46

asked. Maybe we could make

8:49

a ring of roses all

8:51

the way around our log.

8:53

Just like Ballet has around

8:56

her pine tree, suggested Riley.

8:58

Oh yes, that would be

9:01

beautiful, Rob said. Rebel paused

9:03

for a moment. Wait, our

9:06

log is pretty big, he

9:08

said thoughtfully. It would, would

9:11

take a long, long, tat

9:13

time. to make a full,

9:16

full circle," added Ballet. We

9:18

might get too tired to

9:21

finish, said Rob. The three

9:23

raccoons looked at each other,

9:26

thinking. Ballet stayed quiet, giving

9:28

them time to decide. After

9:30

all, it was their home,

9:33

and they would know best

9:35

where a snow rose garden

9:38

would make them happiest, would

9:40

make them happiest, would make

9:43

them happiest, would make them

9:45

happiest, would make them happiest,

9:48

would make them happiest, would

9:50

make them happiest, make them

9:53

happiest, make them happiest, Then

9:56

Riley spoke up. What

9:58

if we... just put

10:01

the roses near the

10:03

entrance. Rebel got excited

10:05

too. Yes, that would

10:08

look nice and it

10:10

wouldn't take as long.

10:13

Rob nodded. That's perfect.

10:15

Ballet smiled. She thought

10:17

it was smart of

10:20

the raccoons to really

10:22

think about their idea

10:24

before starting. Big projects.

10:27

could be exciting, but

10:29

it was important to

10:32

make sure they had

10:34

enough time and energy

10:36

to finish. Sometimes, taking

10:39

a second look at

10:41

a big idea, can

10:43

help find a plan

10:46

that works even better.

10:48

Great idea! Let's get

10:51

started, said Ballet. First,

10:53

you roll the snow

10:55

into a... ball, she

10:58

said. She pressed her

11:00

paws into the snow

11:02

and nudged it forward,

11:05

rolling and rolling until

11:07

she had a big

11:10

snowball, about half the

11:12

size she was. The

11:14

raccoons nodded and scurried

11:17

about, rolling their own

11:19

snowballs, making sure they

11:21

ended up where they

11:24

wanted the circle to

11:26

be. Okay,

11:29

ballet, we're ready

11:31

for the next

11:33

step, rebel called.

11:35

And now, take

11:38

a deep dragon

11:40

breath, instructed ballet,

11:42

a picture of

11:45

real rose in

11:47

your mind. The

11:49

four friends took

11:51

a deep dragon

11:54

breath in and

11:56

out. I

12:08

can see it," Riley

12:11

said eagerly. What's next?

12:13

Ballet began to paw

12:16

at her snowball. And

12:18

now you scoop up

12:21

the petals and shape

12:23

them just like your

12:26

picture. She began to

12:29

carve petals into her

12:31

sculpture, smoothing them out

12:34

as she worked. The

12:36

raccoons watched closely. and

12:39

then did the same

12:41

thing, scooping, shaping, and

12:44

adding little details. Before

12:46

long, the area was

12:49

filled with snow roses.

12:51

Some were small and

12:54

delicate, while others were

12:56

big and fluffy. Each

12:59

sculpture sparkled in the

13:02

sunlight. When the last

13:04

petal was carved. The

13:07

raccoons stepped back to

13:09

admire their snow roses.

13:12

They look amazing, Rebel

13:14

said. His eyes were

13:17

actually growing a bit

13:19

misty. I love them,

13:22

Riley added. They make

13:24

our home feel so

13:27

special. Ballet looked at

13:29

the beautiful sculptures by

13:32

the log. The snow

13:35

roses stood in a

13:37

perfect circle, just like

13:40

the ones by her

13:42

pine tree. It was

13:45

a lovely sight to

13:47

see. A very nice

13:50

ballet said with a

13:52

happy nod. Rob let

13:55

out a big odd.

13:57

That was a lot

14:00

of work, he said.

14:02

stretching his arms. I'm

14:05

glad we didn't try

14:08

to go all the

14:10

way around the log

14:13

today. That would have

14:15

been too much. Rebel

14:18

and Riley nodded. We

14:20

made the right choice,

14:23

Rebel said. Now we

14:25

still have time to

14:28

enjoy our roses before

14:30

the sun goes down.

14:33

Rob said excitedly. Maybe

14:35

tomorrow. After we've rested,

14:38

we can make a

14:41

snowberry bush to go

14:43

with our roses. A

14:46

snowberry bush would be

14:48

beautiful, agreed Ballet. But

14:51

first, a nap, declared

14:53

rebel. The three raccoons

14:56

stretched. One more time.

14:58

before crawling into their

15:01

cozy log. Thanks for

15:03

teaching us ballet, Riley

15:06

said, peaking out sleepily.

15:08

See you later, Rob

15:11

added. After saying goodbye

15:13

to the raccoons, the

15:16

little bunny hopped back

15:19

to her home. Under

15:21

the pine tree, Ballet

15:24

yawned and stretched and

15:26

stretched. kicking her feet

15:29

out behind her. It

15:31

was time for arrest.

15:34

The little bunny nestled

15:36

into the soft earth,

15:39

feeling cozy and warm,

15:41

and thought of all

15:44

she had to be

15:46

grateful for. Ballet felt

15:49

grateful her snow roses

15:52

were bringing so much

15:54

joy. She

15:58

took a

16:00

deep dread.

16:02

Dragonbreath in

16:05

and out.

16:07

Ballet was

16:09

also grateful

16:11

that rebel

16:13

Rob and

16:16

Riley had

16:18

thought carefully

16:20

about where

16:22

to build

16:25

their snow

16:27

rose garden.

16:31

calming her

16:34

body, ballet

16:36

took another

16:38

deep dragon

16:40

breath in

16:43

and out.

16:45

Ballet was

16:47

grateful to

16:50

share her

16:52

art with

16:54

her friends.

16:56

Ballet closed

16:59

her eyes,

17:01

gave herself

17:03

a big

17:05

hug, and

17:08

relaxed. Her

17:10

ears flopped

17:12

back as

17:15

she wished

17:17

everyone a

17:19

peaceful night.

17:21

She took

17:24

one last.

17:27

Dragonbreath in

17:29

and out.

17:31

Her mind

17:33

quieted. Her

17:36

mind quieted

17:38

and the

17:40

little bunny

17:43

fell asleep

17:45

imagining the

17:47

moonlight sparkling.

17:49

on all

17:52

the snow

17:54

sculptures in

17:56

the forest.

18:03

Thank you for joining

18:05

us joining us on

18:07

our on Awe Island. See See

18:09

you next time. time.

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