Winter Park

Oh, hey, there. You're just in time for tonight's visit to the winter park. The sun is setting over the city, and the park is covered in fresh snow, and looking just beautiful. But although the weather is cold, there's no need to worry about staying warm, because we are going to be using a highly unusual mode of transport, a magical bubble of air. Think of it like a soap bubble, but one that has you inside it. It's perfectly clear and perfectly comfortable, and it travels on the gentlest of breezes. It will allow us to tour the park without even getting our boots damp. It brings a whole new meaning to drifting off. Before we begin our visit, I think it's nice to start with a quick wind down. Tonight's wind down is a breathing exercise. So when you're ready, let's begin. Now, just bringing the attention to the breath, noticing where you feel it, in the nose, the throat, the chest, the diaphragm. You're nice and relaxed. We're going to be taking a deep breath, in for four, holding it for four, and then breathing out for six. So, are you ready? Let's begin. In for four, two, three, four, hold it for four, two, three, four, breathing out for six, two, three, four, five, six, in for four, two, three, four, holding for four, two, three, four, out for six, two, three, four, five, six, in for four, two, three, four, holding for four, two, three, four, out for six, two, three, four, five, six. In for four, two, three, four, holding for four, two, three, four, out for six, two, three, four, five, six. Great. Now returning the breath to normal. You hear peels of laughter in the park and it's no surprise where they come from: the ice skating rink. What a lovely way to spend a wintry evening. The rink is a perfect circle with handrails and lampposts along the sides. It's rather busy tonight. From so high up the people blur into blobs of color. You see yellow raincoats and matching lilac sweaters and baby blue denim jackets. You spot orange mittens and pink earmuffs. Someone wrapped in a lime green scarf darts around the rink while another person wearing all red lifts their gray friend up for a jump. It's almost as if the ice rink is filled with balloons of all colors and sizes. If you look very closely you can almost trace the silvery swirling patterns left by the skates as people dance across the ice. You come across a bridge, while gliding through the sky. Mossy gray stones carefully stacked to span across a half-frozen pond. There are solid guardrails on the sides of the bridge, so a person can lean out and look at the water. In the center of these rails, on each side, you see urns carved from stone. In the summer, these might be filled with growing pansies. Right now, the urns collect...