Sofia Sloth’s Journey to Mindfulness

It was the best kind of day. The sun was out but it was not too warm to play. A few fluffy white clouds were drifting across the sky making all kinds of fun shapes if only one looked up to notice. Sofia Sloth was ready to find a friend, so she went to the park to do just that. She was happy to see many new friends she could play with and made her way over to the monkey bars.

“Hi, what are you playing?” asked Sofia. 

“I am trying to get across the bars as fast as I can. Want to try? Mandy Monkey sped across the bars very quickly before waiting for Sofia to answer.

“No, thank you.” I was hoping to play something a little slower.”

Sofia went over to the sandbox where Sidney Squirrel was digging.

“Hi, what are you playing?”

“I was pretending to look for dinosaur bones, and I don’t know where I buried my toys. Do you want to help me dig?

“No, thank you. I was hoping to play something a little less messy.” Sofia said as she looked around.

She turned and noticed Bodhi Bird and Rory Rabbit talking, so she went over to see what they were up to.

“Hi, you two! What are you doing?”

Bodhi Bird turned to Sofia and said, “we are playing 20-questions, but Rory keeps forgetting the thing he picks and I am upset because it is no fun to not be able to win! Do you want to play with us? Maybe it would be more fun with three.”

“Um, no thank you. I am not very good at that game. Want to play something else?” Sofia asked.

“Sure!” they both replied with excitement.

“Let’s play soccer!” Rory suggested. So, the three of them took turns being goalies and kicking the ball into the net. But, after a few minutes, Rory lost interest when he saw Lily Ladybug flying from flower to flower, then to more flowers. He was suddenly less interested in playing soccer and more interested in following Lily around. Bodhi just shrugged and flew over to the swings.

Sofia was alone, trying to find the next fun thing since that’s why she came to the park—to have fun! Sofia walked slowly along the path, hoping to find something to help her feel happy. She found herself near a pond, where she saw someone she had never seen before. 

Tai Turtle was sitting on a blanket with their eyes closed, not making a move or a sound. Sofia walked over slowly and stood near the blanket, trying to figure out what game the turtle was playing. Maybe they were counting to ten for a game of hide and seek? Or, maybe they were trying to pick the next fun game. Sofia was suddenly startled by a low voice. 

“Hello, but can I ask you to please move over a bit? You are blocking the sun.” Tai said without even opening their eyes. 

“Oh, of course. I’m so sorry! I was trying to figure out what game you might be playing.”

Tai opened one eye to look and see who was talking. “Well, I am not playing a game, I am sunbathing….mindfully.”

Sofia looked at them with a puzzled look. “Sunbathing mindfully? What does that mean?”

Tai took a moment to reply. After a long, slow breath, they replied, “First, to answer that, I need to know if you know what mindfulness is. Do you?

Sofia shook her head, and Tai asked, “Have you ever tried to learn something new, like tie your shoe or play an instrument? Anything you had to practice over and over again?”

“Yes, I am learning to read and that takes lots of practice.”

“Oh, yes! Reading takes many tries to learn new words and the sounds that make up the words. Well, mindfulness is like reading only it is something you practice to train your brain and your body to be more aware and calm.”

Sofia was intrigued. She wanted to understand more about this new word, mindfulness. She sat next to Tai so she could listen more carefully.

Tai continued. “Mindfulness is when you try to focus on what is going on right now. Your brain might want to think about the scary dream you had last night or about the math test you have tomorrow. When we think about things that make us scared, sad, or mad, or even joyful thoughts, we can miss what is going on right now. Practicing mindfulness can help us stay focused on now instead of yesterday or tomorrow. When we focus on right now, we do not get lost in what we cannot change. Does that make sense so far?”

“I think so,” answered Sofia. Sometimes, I'm eating breakfast, but I’m thinking about playing with my friends or the TV show I want to watch. Is that the same thing?”

“Yes, you are correct. Let’s say you didn’t do so well on a math test, and when you tried to get ready for the next test, all you did was think about how badly you did on the last test, and that made you do poorly on the next test. Mindfulness can help because it allows you to focus on studying instead of on what has already happened and that you cannot change. In the example you gave about eating breakfast while thinking about something in the future that has not happened yet, you can practice mindful eating.”

“Huh? Mindful eating? That doesn’t make any sense. I don’t need to think about eating to eat, I just eat!” Sofia was confused. 

“I understand. We will talk about that another day.”

“Is mindful sunbathing fun?”

“Well, right now, I am staying in the right now and feeling the sun on my body and focusing my ears on the sounds in the park and smelling the sweet grass, and my body feels calm and happy.”

“Why do you do that?”

“When I stay in the right now, I feel better about what is going on because I do not get lost in thought about things that already happened that I cannot change or things that have not happened yet. Earlier today, I was feeling sad and I knew that coming to the park and lying in the sun would help me.”

“I am upset that I haven't been able to find anyone to have fun with today,” Sofia said.

“Join me in mindful sunbathing and see if you feel differently in a little while.”

Lying on her back, arms out to the sides, she asked. “Do I just close my eyes and hold still?” 

“You can if you want to, or keep them open. Do what feels right for you. Everyone does it differently.”

Sofia closed her eyes and felt her fur start to warm up from the sun. She started to wonder if she was doing it wrong. Before long, all of the other animals in the park noticed the two mindful sunbathers. They wandered, hopped, and flew over to see what was going on and if they were ok. 

“What are they doing?” They whispered to one another. 

“I have no idea, but they look really relaxed and peaceful,” said Bodhi Bird. “Let’s try doing what they are doing!”

They all found a spot on the rock near Sofia and Tai and closed their eyes. Rory fell asleep because he was tired from playing soccer and chasing Lily Ladybug around. As they were lying there, Tai said a few words to help guide them.

“Take a few deep breaths, slowly and deeply. Feel where you notice your breath the most. Is it in your nose? Or maybe you feel it more in your chest or your belly. Just continue to focus on your breath. There’s nowhere to go, and nothing to do. Just be in the here and now.”

The group of friends dropped into a deep meditation in the sun for about 30 minutes. Tai slowly and quietly opened their eyes, stood up, and lumbered away into the forest. Some time later, Sidney Squirrel opened their eyes, and Mandy Monkey got up and stretched. They both smiled at one another, and without a word spoken, wandered back to the playground together. 

Bodhi Bird, Lily Ladybug, and Rory Rabbit quietly got up and sauntered over to the sandbox to dig, leaving Sofia Sloth lying there alone on the rock, mindfully sunbathing, a wide smile on her face. She was having so much fun. 

[end]