Meditative Stories: Walk besides the River (Relaxation)

Before reading the passage below, please take three long, calm, deep breaths. Read the passage below, calmly and slowly. Once you have taken your time to read through the passage, it will leave you with a feeling of stillness and beauty.

Anna loved to go outside and talk long walks when she was bored or wanted to relax. She lived among the hilly plains of lush green Irish country side, so nature was her best friend. On this beautiful sunny day, she stepped out of her old wooden, but cozy cottage and started walking along the road towards the river banks.

The old road towards the river banks was surrounded by lush green land and a clear blue sky. Today, it looked particularly breathtaking as Anna could see as far as her sight. The air was crisp and clear, and everything around her was green. There was a slight breeze in the air and the grass around her would sway every now and then. The air was cool,  sun was warm, and the sky was blue creating a perfect day to take a walk. Anna would stop every now and then to brush her hand along the tall grass on the road side.

As Anna kept walking a little further, she came to a large garden on either side of the road. The garden was full of thick large apple trees everywhere, complete their bright red ripe apples, ready to be eaten. The air smelled of sweet luscious apples for miles and seemed to welcome Anna to enjoy them. She plucked one apple playfully from the tree and gave it a bite. It tasted refreshingly sweet and made a delicious crunchy sound. The fruit tasted as beautiful as it looked.

As Anna ate her apple and walked towards the bank, she noticed the sound of the river flowing. That sweet sound of water flowing through the rocks, that everyone remembers from their childhood. Slowly, slowly, it kept on getting louder as she kept on walking. The road started getting narrower and lead itself into a forest through which the river flowed. Before she knew it, Anna was there by the river bank.

This was a small river. On either side of the river bank was a small path to walk on and the whole place was surrounded by the thick, lush, beautiful forest. Anna could hear the river, sounds of birds and small animals. Small streaks of sunlight fell through the roof of the forest, falling on the river, and the forest floor, making everything it touched sparkle.

Anna walked along the river bank, along the short grass along the bank, observing everything and delighting in the beauty of the place. She saw a beautiful wild flower. She had never seen it before in this part of the forest. It was a big flower and came up to her eyes. It was a royal purple colour and it seemed as if the majesty of the forest had been expressed through this one wild flower. Her eyes fixed on this flower and its beautiful purple petals and yellow interior. The contrast of the colour was magical. As Anna drew nearer she stroked the soft, velvety petals of the flower and took a good sniff. It smelled luscious, royal, romantic and energetic.

Anna suddenly realized that there was something in her feet, she let the flower go and looked down to find a small furry animal rubbing itself on her legs. It had large black eyes and a thick furry coat of light blue colour. It made no sound and just innocently rubbed itself along Anna's feet and slowly went away.

Anna then just decided to sit down on the river bank rather than walking anymore. She took of her shoes and sat down by the bank. Lifting her frock, she dipped her feet into the flowing river. The water was cool, just beyond comfort, enough to refresh her. Anna sat there admiring the river  and how it felt on her legs. It felt so cool. Pure clean water, so clean that she could even see the river bed. It river essentially reminded Anna was purity and flow. As she sat over there, she felt her worries, anxieties and problems, all being cleaned up by the flowing river beneath her. Her problems and issues were all flowing away with the water, leaving a sense of absolute comfort, coolness and ease along her legs and all of her body.

After taking a deep breath, full of a feeling of relief, she started observing the beautiful trees around the forest. Huge, old, trees that seemed to have within them timeless beauty and portrayed a sense of majesty. Anna would often feel the tall frees in the forest protected her from the outside world. They reminded her that she is loved, they reminded her that she is safe and they reminded her that there is unlimited beauty in the world.

It was getting dark now, and Anna had to start walking towards home. She got her wet feet out of the water, held her shoes in hand and started walking back home barefoot. She knew a short path to her home and she took that path to get back to her home. Slowly, she walked out of the forest and noticed  that the sun was about to set and the day had all gone by. The sky had turned orange and it was starting to get dark. As Anna walked, she came across the apple trees again and plucked another apple. After walking a little more she was outside the road towards her house, surrounded by green plains, and a quickly darkening sky. She could see the stars coming out and the fireflies had started to come out in the distance. Soon, she was outside her wooden, cottage and step in, comforted in knowing that the most beautiful experience in the world is always there waiting for her in the forest