Get Sleepy: Sleep meditation and stories - A Cozy December Day

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Starting point is 00:00:53 Do you have little ones in your life? Whether you're a parent, teacher, aunt, uncle, grandparent, babysitter, we all know that keeping kids calm and entertained can be difficult. That's why I want to introduce you to the newest show by Samba Studios. It's called Snuggle, and it features calming stories for kids of all ages. Whether it's for bedtime, nap time, or just for fun, Snuggle offers a calming world of imagination. You'll find original stories where we swim with mermaids, visit old toy stores and try out magical ones.

Starting point is 00:01:37 And you'll hear our modernised renditions of classic tales like Cinderella and Alice in Wonderland. Just search Snuggle in your podcast player and be sure to follow the show. I'll see you there the next time you and your little ones are looking for a cozy story to snuggle up with. Welcome to Get Sleepy, where we listen, we relax and we get sleepy. I'm your host, Thomas. Thanks so much for being here. Tonight's story brings us to Maine in the US, not long before Christmas. We'll join a lady called Mara as she enjoys an evening of coziness and tradition in her

Starting point is 00:02:35 coastal town. This one's a beautiful story with lots of little pockets of wisdom and heartwarming sentiments throughout. So thank you to Gillian for writing it. Winter nights are a wonderful opportunity for turning inward and finding warmth and light in our homes and in the company of those we love. Many of us savor the coziness of the season, it's the time to light candles and drink warm beverages. And right now, it's time to settle in for a long sleep filled with magical dreams, so that you wake tomorrow feeling truly rested and refreshed. So snuggle down into your blankets and allow your head to feel pleasantly heavy, nested in

Starting point is 00:03:52 your pillow. Begin to focus on your breathing and on your body as a whole. Drawing the breath in slowly, allow it to flow fully into your stomach. Then gently breathe out and enjoy the soothing release as your muscles relax. With each breath, allow your body to ease into the comfort of your, more and more. Notice how the warmth of your cover is cocooning you in this peaceful place. Your body warming the spot that you are lying in, so that it becomes more luxurious with each passing second. It may be winter for many of us now, but you can always find warmth and comfort in this

Starting point is 00:05:24 spot right here. A place to return to each night, where you can rest and recharge. Ready for the next day. Now that you're comfortable and hopefully starting to feel sleepy, simply listen to the sound of my voice as I tell you a tale about beauty and wonder in the darkest time of year. It is mid-December in coastal Maine and night falls early. At four in the afternoon, Mara pulls the chain on the solid brass desk lamp, which has been in this place far longer than she has. She thinks about the bookstores history, about the men and women who've mined it to the shop before her, and she hopes there

Starting point is 00:07:08 will be many generations after she has gone. A town needs a proper book center. It's more than simply a brick and mortar space to buy books. A bookstore is a source of comfort on difficult days, and it's where the community gathers, thinks Mara. She is cheered by the pretty glow of the chipped Tiffany-style lampshade. This lamp keeps Mara Company on many long evenings throughout the winter, in this little business on Main Street. She is at work in a small town that is actually large enough to support three bookstores and four coffee shops, as well as two museums, numerous art galleries, and a seafood restaurant

Starting point is 00:08:22 housed inside an old car ferry docked in the Marina. There is an oyster bar and a wine bar and a tavern where young people gather on weekends. Mara was not born in this coastal town, but one quite like it a few hours drive away. The ocean is always home. She feels connected to the like-minded people who live and work in Rockland, whether they grew up there, or like her, somehow found their way north to the site of the eccentric picturesque camelette of artists and fishermen. She spent decades searching for that sense of belonging, and she's grateful to have found it in a town in Maine with a real working waterfront and many folks who still make an honest living from the sea.

Starting point is 00:09:56 It's a town that welcomes and fosters creativity. creativity. Everyone seems to be an artisan, a musician, a writer, or a weaver in their spare time. Painters like Andrew Wyeth and Edward Hopper famously captured the way the light plays on weathered houses over the lonely sublime ocean and on the care-worn noble faces of the men and women who live here. Main cause to artistic souls, and Mara has finally put down roots. Living here, the years of her life have settled into a comfortable rhythm. Winter in a tourist town is dedicated to projects and creative pursuits. And it's a time for fun too, skiing at the snowball on the mountain, or skating on the lakes and rivers that run through the woods. Mara appreciates the luxury of time it seems everyone is busy. They're working hard, catering to daytrippers and people who come up from cities to summer in their seaside houses. In winter, the town rests and regroups. Friends reconnect and draw warmth out of the cold

Starting point is 00:12:16 by creating a meaningful life and deepening community ties. There is time to volunteer at the senior home and make food for the homebound in the community kitchen. It's a balanced way of living in harmony with nature and it makes sense to take winter seriously. Winters can be harsh with weeks, even months of endless snow and ice. Certainly, the nights at this time of year can feel long when the temperature drops and the darkness descends early. Mara knows she must be prepared for extreme weather, but with enough wood for the stove and oil in the fuel tank, and with warm clothes and a stocked pantry, she can delight in the wilderness and the beauty. For it is a very beautiful place. The ocean, which in summer is striking and playful, in winter is wonderfully

Starting point is 00:13:52 forbidding. The Atlantic comes in with a stone warning. It crashes and turns still grey. It can even ice over in the harbor, creating dramatic and jagged sculptures. On the coldest days there is sea smoke rising from the water. It has a haunted quality. She would not like to swim in those frigid waters now. When Mara looks out of the shop window, she can see those lonely pine trees, main is so well known for, as well as two light houses that frame the picture. And she sees the lobster boats coming in from Hall. The winter catch is smaller than the bustling summer lobster business. Some fishermen use winter to do gear work to make improvements to their line. It is the ideal time to restore old boats. But there are also men and women who brave

Starting point is 00:15:33 the ICCs to fish the deep or winter. It is such a luxury to have this seafood all to themselves come December, the locals think. Turning away from the window, Mara shifts her attention to her surroundings. She loves the snug rooms and creaky wooden floors of the bookstore which overlooks the harbour, the radiator cracks and steams. Then there is the leather armchair, buttery soft, where so many customers sit to discover the first few pages of a new book. There's the braided rug the last book selamade herself from Rags, a traditional craft in the old days. And there's a handsome wooden ladder on a trek that wraps around the walls. It smells of sandal wood. Now that it's the holiday season, there is also the scent of the cinnamon broom and pine

Starting point is 00:17:13 from the tabletop tree, which Mara snipped from the woods. The little tree is simply lit with fairy lights. Its base wrapped in cream-coloured felt, trimmed in gold. And then there on the floor. No matter how many books sell, there always seems to be more. Many are like old friends. There are customers for all titles and genres. It's so nice how some people will reliably come in every Tuesday for a new release. The shop carries new fiction from favourite authors, as well as emerging writers and interesting presses. Art books are popular, as well as philosophy, religion and spirituality, and tarot cards sell well this time of year as do greeting cards.

Starting point is 00:18:55 There is a well-curated section of cookbooks and a small but important poetry corner. and a small but important poetry corner. The most cheerful nook is the area devoted to children's books. Maura loves choosing picture books, as well as graphic novels and chapter books for her youngest clientele. Reading aloud is something she takes particular joy in doing at Christmas time. Every December, around this time, she runs an event for families. There are seasonal stories and cookies and cocoa for the young and young at heart. This bookshop is upstairs in an old brick building. The halls are woodpanelled and the

Starting point is 00:20:08 banister is solid and all-nately carved. There are other shops in the building but mostly offices. Some still have the old doors with frosted glass panes and trancem windows above the heavy wood. This is a building that feels as if it will endure through the ages despite the changes that occur outside. Down the hall is a therapist, and there is a yoga studio upstairs. There is even a cobbler, perhaps the last one in town, just above the bookstore. Because of this, all sorts of people visit the building daily. This feels like a gift in and of itself.

Starting point is 00:21:27 Downtown still has the quality of a liveness. Of course, during the holidays it is especially vibrant, and the streets are filled with shoppers. They are loaded up with packages and bags popping in and out of shops. They have rosy cheeks, cute hats and warm mittens and boots. But at the bookstore there will be no more customers today. There will be no more customers today. As the clock strikes five, Marad beautifully turns the sign on the door, so it reads closed to the outside. She marks her place and closes the biography she was reading, then shuts down the computer. She turns off the music and each of the lights. Then she changes out of her ballet slippers and into fleece-lined tall waterproof boots. She bundles into her hat, puffercoat, long scarf and leather gloves. And she walks down the creaking steps and out into the evening. It is cold on the sidewalk, but a beautiful kind of cold.

Starting point is 00:23:18 It feels like snow is coming. Boats and boys are clanging in the harbor. The air smells like good things to eat from the neighborhood beastroes. Stake and garlic and groups of friends look content over large dishes of pasta. They are sharing small plates of citrus scented olives, warm almonds, cheeses and crab dip, and frizzled greens with roasted garlic and bread. Mara starts the car remotely, so it is warm and humming when she opens the door. Chikovsky's nutcracker suite plays through the speakers. The so-ryed out of Rockland is spent enjoying the light displays on and around the houses

Starting point is 00:24:41 in the neighborhood and along the rural route. Mara turns left at the neoclassical mansion on the hill, admiring the widows' walk and imposing columns. She smiles at the twelfth-foot-tall wooden cutouts of St Nicholas and his reindeer. Dasha, Dansa, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donna and Blitzen. And yes, there is red-nosed Rudolph all lit up, as well as cartoonish elves carrying enormous presents. There is a spotlight on the grand white building and enormous wreaths are hung over every door and window. Mara imagines a Victorian banquet going on inside with roaring fires in every room. Children devouring sugar ginger and musicians playing fiddles for numerous people dancing. with sweeping vistas down the hayfields all the way to the tidal river. In autumn pumpkins are grown in those fields.

Starting point is 00:26:37 And soon when there is a proper covering of snow, families will set on the soft powder. And when it is once again summer, there will be a fireworks display for the 4th of July over the water. The entire town will gather in the event barn for lobster and strawberry pie. Every season is celebrated here in this bucolic corner of the world. The drive is pleasant and so pretty, with handsome decorations on almost every house. There are coloured lights in the bushes, icicle lights hanging from eaves, and soon there is the sturdy sign for Tennant's harbour. Mara crosses the border and sighs happily, even more relaxed and ready to be home. Finally she arrives. How pretty and warm my house looks, she thinks. Mara loves her small cottage in between the forest and the sea. The simple wreath hanging on the front door is fragrant and locally grown.

Starting point is 00:28:33 The decoration was made by the neighbours, a retired couple. They are of finished descent They are of finished descent and built a sauna behind their house. It's so delightful to see them laughing, running like children from the snuck Cedar building to plunge into the freezing cove. Mare is pleased she left the porch lights on. It's a wide and welcoming wrap around porch with twinkling fairy lights and tin stars strung from above. Near the door there's a stack of decorative presents wrapped in brown paper with rich looking ribbon. Abundant evergreen garlands are draped over every window. are draped over every window. The brass keyring with the charms and medallions is easy to find in her bag. Mara puts her silver key in the lock and it opens with a satisfying click.

Starting point is 00:30:08 When she crosses the threshold, she is struck by how cosy it is inside and how good it feels to be in one's own sweet home. Sitting on the upholsted bench, Mara removes her heavy boots and thick woolen socks, blinding them up neatly on the mat. Then she exhales from her belly with a sense of contentment and delight. She hangs her coat by the gold-framed mirror and pauses at her red cheeked reflection, smiling. It's a snuck, two-story house, white with grey shutters. It tends to be warm in the winter, cool in summer, and always filled with sunlight during the day. Mara lights a few white candles on the sideboard and turns on the electric candles in all the windows. She lights the hurricane lamp and turns on the electric fire.

Starting point is 00:31:49 Next, she plugs in the great balsam tree. It's covered with twinkling white lights, air loom ornaments, cranberry and popcorn garlands, dried orange slices and a bright star on top. Mara puts the kettle on and curls up on the overstuffed love seat in the kitchen. She takes a few minutes to simply breathe, grounding herself in the sights and smells of the home and the holidays. It's good that it only lasts a few weeks, she thinks. It is a femoral, otherwise it would not be so special. As she breathes in, she smells her neighbours wood burning stove and the sense of clothes and orange. Unlatching a large glass jar, she scoops a heaping spoonful of dried sage and rosemary from the summer garden. Then she pours boiling water over a strainer into a porcelain tea pot.

Starting point is 00:33:38 Find things ought to be regularly used, think Smara. These leaves don't need to steep for long. She uses a wooden dipper to stir in cranberry honey, which adds the perfect amount of sour and sweet to the steaming muck of herbal tea. Sage is for wisdom and opening the throat she thinks and rosemary for remembrance. Mara takes a sip of the wonderful brew that sustains her all throughout winter. For a moment she is reminded of summer. She feels the sun on her face and dirt under her nails and smells the fertile earth. She planted the sage at midsummer outside in the garden at this very hour barefoot in the heat. How amazing to be alive on this earth with its seasons and to get to experience each one so deeply. Maha has an entire hour stretching before her to pat her around the house, to meditate,

Starting point is 00:35:31 read, water the plants, listen to music, weave or play guitar, or simply sit by the tree. She likes to look closely at each ornament and recall where it came from, where she was and how she felt when she bought or required it. It is sort of like time travel. Each pretty object is a portal that lets her fall through time. Reminishing and traditions are such an important part of the holiday season, think Smara. To look back at where you were, to wonder where you are heading, and to be exactly where you are. She carefully places a nut-king coal record on the town table and gently moves the arm, sitting the needle lightly on the outermost track. Settling into a comfy armchair with a soft, wavent blanket, let smells faintly of cedar, and with a pot of tea and a plate of iced ginger cookies on the table, Mara experiences a moment of true bliss.

Starting point is 00:37:29 The clock strikes six. A liminal hour well spent thinks Mara. She gazes across the room towards the tree. Almost as tall as the ceiling of the cottage, it is a potent symbol of renewal and life everlasting. The evergreen tree reminds us there is always green life growing somewhere, flowering. It holds the knowledge, the promise, the certainty that spring will come again. After the winter solstice, the light will indeed begin its return.

Starting point is 00:38:30 Days will slowly grow longer. Even at the darkest time, there is cause for hope. Mara went to the woods herself for this beautiful specimen of a conifer. Across the street from her cottage, there are woods of the softest moths, tall pines that sway in the breeze, stones that seem to keep ancient secrets, and deciduous trees such as birch and maple. The trails are freshly cut by an old man on a small bulldozer. Emulch is the wood from cut trunks and branches, and makes beautiful, wide paths through the woods. On a bright, brisk morning last week, Maura sat out with her scent to select this year's tree.

Starting point is 00:39:55 She walked through the clearing, passed the stream, passed the tree that was good for climbing, and the tree with a low branch where the children liked to swing. Mara left the path to scurry down the hill where the atelantec ocean was waiting. Water crashed over the rocks at a place called roaring spout. There she grounded herself in the elements, breathing in the cleansing salt air. Sultan. She took her bow saw, a simple tall, bought from the local hardware store, and got down close to the ground, working carefully to cut through the trunk with the serrated blade. It was soft and bursting with fragrant sap. Mara was on her belly touching the earth. She got right underneath the great tree and said a blessing as she safely took it down. Afterwards, she was proud and beaming as she heaved the conifer onto a sled and pulled it home.

Starting point is 00:41:46 Back in the present moment, Maura looks at the clock above the sink and sees it is time to go. She almost forgot about tonight's event, a favourite and your tradition. She adds a layer of long johns and another sweater, as well as thick woolen socks and a matching scarf purchased from the open air Christmas market. Then she packs a jar of homemade marshmallows, dipped in graham cracker crumbs, and a thermos of hot cocoa, which makes a perfect, drinkable smore. She is meeting friends for a nature walk on a trail not far from home. This wintery outing is based on a children's book by Eve Bunting called The Night Tree, and it entails bringing all sorts of organic food.

Starting point is 00:43:11 Pine cones coated with peanut butter, apple slices, popcorn, seeds and nuts, and even oatmeal cookies. Mara and her friends hang the food on a tree for the woodland animals to enjoy during the darkest part of the year. It is a simple and inclusive holiday ritual. Sometimes, the group spontaneously breaks into song, or one person speaks a prayer or poem. Mary Oliver is a perennial favorite. No matter what transpires, it is a wondrous night full of magic and meaning.

Starting point is 00:44:27 Maro drives solely, enjoying the Christmas classics on the radio, the silly and the sacred. She arrives at the meeting point in just a few minutes. She sees many familiar faces still recognizable, all bundled up. Some friends have opened up their car tailgates and are breaking out thermoses of coffee and tea. Some have brought sandwiches wrapped in wax paper, spiced cookies with white icing, and orange and cranberry cakes to share. Others have instruments. Mara loves the sound of a fiddle and guitar under the stars. This is a merry group of old friends and new, young generations out for a happy gathering. Some folks carry baskets on their backs in order to collect firewood, pine cones, or other treasures from the walk.

Starting point is 00:46:11 or other treasures into the night. Each of Maris friends has brought something special. Ben from England always makes his own version of Twiglets, a sort of pretzel rod made from spent grains. They have a distinctive and homey bakery taste. Ben also bruises beer and presses apples for cider at his farm. He makes jam from blueberries that grow wild on his property and apple butter from his orchard. Bora is a cheese maker and she brings rounds of silken camembert and wedges of peppery blue cheese. Jacob is a loothea and he brings his best fiddle to play while his wife builds a great bonfire.

Starting point is 00:47:54 Mary plays her ukulele and Alden plays a Celtic drum called a bauron. Ashby's family is Wabanaki and has a cramory bonk. She brings small canvas bags of gorgeous cramberries as presents for everyone. Andrew forages for acorns and grinds them into flour, which make the most wonderful pancakes. He also taps maples in spring and boils the sap into amber syrup in his hand-built sugar shack. The bottles are beautiful and And the syrup is wonderful, on pancakes, in coffee, or even over fresh snow. There is so much heritage and hard work represented in this diverse group of people. The spirit is generous and all sentient beings are looked after. Mara thinks of the deer, the foxes, the raccoons and the pine martens that track through this wood, as well as all the bans flitting over the trees.

Starting point is 00:49:32 She hopes they are all well fed and ready for deepest winter. It's a simple thing, Mara thinks, to care for one another. It isn't hard to do, but we must remember. It is important to pay attention and carve out time. This is what makes I for meaningful. Mara feels blessed to be able to do this. She walks purposefully, crunching over the barely frosted grass. The friends make their way into a thicket of not-so-tall pines. They pull out their offerings from their bags. Then they string their edible garlands and hang ornaments of food, gifts to sustain any

Starting point is 00:50:48 creature who comes hungry. The friends sing to the tree, to one another, and to the animals. When they are through, they quietly return to their cars. After the revelry, before it gets very late, it is finally time to head home for the night. It has been a long, good day. Mara is sleepy, ready for bed. She has exercised and socialised and done all the necessary mental and physical work for today. It was satisfying and fulfilling. There is nothing more to be done.

Starting point is 00:51:57 Now she can rest. Mara feels tired in her muscles and bones. On the car ride home, she feels the seat warming her thighs and back. Her little house looks so enchanting, all lit up. She says a quiet word of thanks and goes up the path into her cottage, counting stars up above. She makes a wish, and she vows to learn their names and constellations better in the new year. Inside she turns off all the lights, but for the one over the stove, a private ritual she savers every night.

Starting point is 00:53:11 She locks the doors and sets out the jar of coffee and mocker pot for morning. Then she pats up the carpeted stairs in bare feet. In the bathroom, Mara turns on the tap and waits for the water to warm. She washes her face with a cloth and gentle cleanser. Then puts her skin dry with a thick cotton towel. She then applies a light face lotion, moving her fingers in a circular direction. Mara always brings intention to this nightly routine. Next she uses a ball bristle hairbrush. She received her last Christmas as a present.

Starting point is 00:54:32 And then she brushes her teeth carefully, lovingly, and enjoys the mouthful of white minty foam. She rinses it from her mouth and then takes a small sip of water from the glass that always sits right there. The routine itself prepares her for rest. The motions are so familiar, they are sleep-in-juicing. Her steps to bed are such a comfort. once every night inhaling slowly and exhaling gently. In her room, the bedside lamp is glowing. Her bedtime novel is waiting patiently, a work of historical fiction by a favourite author.

Starting point is 00:55:51 The bed is a high four-poster. an inherited antique with a doubly thick mattress and box spring. The duvet is snow white, as are the linen sheets perfectly washed and worn in. There are six fluffy pillows and a grey linen bolster. Over the bed hangs a mobile of driftwood and stars, another gift. Under the bat, Mars soft slippers are ready for morning. or say, except goodnight. ... you ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... you ... ... ... you ... ... ... ... ... ... ... you you

Get Sleepy: Sleep meditation and stories - A Cozy December Day

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