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. Peer down from your bubble at the gardens below you. You can see little orange dots along the pathway and around the trunks of trees. These tiny colorful hills are wood chips. They mark where the gardeners planted bulbs before the snow fell. There are hundreds of these bulbs, each planted carefully in its own place. Imagine the gloved hands of the gardener tenderly setting a bulb in the earth, covering the hole with soil, covering the soil with wood chips. Without seeing them grow the gardener trusts that the bulbs will survive the winter. You can picture thin green stems shooting up from the ground in a few months, after the snow melts. Those stems will grow into golden bursts of daffodils and pink tulips shaped like teacups. The flowers will cover the park in pops of pastel color. But for now, for this calm winter, the wood chips on top of the soil will keep the bulbs nice and warm as if every flower had its own cozy blanket, kept safe by the tender work of love for this park. You drift over a grove of elm trees. Their smooth black branches twist up and sideways and back again, standing out against the pale snow. Beneath the fresh snow in the...