Intro: Pounding bass note and a stirring fanfare of horns. Welcome to another edition of Things to Think about. Here's Stacy. The horns continue with a keyboard note held.
Relaxing piano music is in the background.
Welcome to the Things to Think About podcast, where we use fables and fairy tales to come to deeper truths about our subconscious world. I'm Stacy Casson and today's story explores the value of our time and energy. I don’t know about you, but many things keep me busy. Some days I wonder if all of it is necessary. We will delve into determining value in a tale I call, “Why Bother”. And now, get comfortable and relax. Take a deep breath in. And exhale. A deep breath in and exhale. A deep breath in and exhale. And if you'd like, you can slowly close your eyes.
Once upon a time, there was a woman who was tired. It was not a matter of sleep, though she struggled to sleep sometimes. She felt she was running out of time. “What have I done with my life?” she wondered. She was one of the lucky ones. The storm had passed her. As she prepared, she knew the debris and detritus of her life was a liability. Why was she holding on to it? Every year she tried to purge and held on because “it might be useful.” She perused the calm water at the edge of the sea. Every day she had whispered her pleas into a coconut shell and set it afloat. As it had done the previous days, she found the coconut shell washed up on the shore. Would she ever escape the currents? She sat with the coconut shell and thought. Carefully she traced a word in the sand. Then she gathered the sand and placed it in the coconut. Busy. Doer. Doormat. Helpless. Each word was written with intention and gently scraped up and placed in the coconut. Once again she placed it in the water. “I release you,” she whispered and walked away.
“What have I done?” Her feet were bruised and tender. She had done it. She left everything behind and had started walking. She had taken nothing with her, not even shoes for her feet. The sand was soft but hot in the sun. She would walk in the water when the sand was too hot for her feet. She was so thirsty, but could not go back. “Please help me, someone help me.” She had seemed so sure that it was time. Would she die here surrounded by water without a drop to drink? A seagull squawked and she looked over. There was a shallow cove and moored to a stump was a boat. Cautiously she walked over and noticed the word “HELP” was painted on the boat. “Another lost soul?” she wondered and got closer. Inside the boat was a glass bottle with a clear liquid. She opened it and smelled nothing odd. Was it water? Cautiously she took a sip. It was water and she drank her fill. The seagull told her to get in. Perhaps she was hallucinating. She sat in the boat and noticed some ropes tied to the bow. Several seagulls took a rope and dragged the boat out to sea.
The glass bottle was always filled with live-giving water as the seagulls dragged the boat. Perhaps she would survive this. A small island came into view. She returned the glass bottle to the boat for the next traveler and gave a word of gratitude. She thanked the gulls and watched the boat return to the sea. She picked up a coconut and dashed it on a rocky outcropping. Greedily she ate the tender coconut flesh. She was alive! There were so many possibilities. “Have I truly left?” The same questions and unease seemed to follow her. Would she recreate her old life here on this new island? She found a stick and began to trace new words into the sand. Free. Being. Powerful. With each word a strange energy gathered and coalesced around the woman. After the final word, the energy had become a ball at the tip of the stick. “I will not go back,” she proclaimed and struck the stick into the sand.
Beneath her feet the sand moved aside to reveal a staircase. Without hesitation she began to descend the stairs. They were elegant and spiraled down, down, down. Instead of darkness, there was a glorious light. Strange symbols appeared before her as she continued to walk holding on to the handrail. She found that she understood the messages. The light increased in brightness but did not harm her eyes. With each step she took, her clothing burned away, her physical form burned away, yet she remained unharmed. “Yes, yes,” she said to herself as she began to understand what she needed to do next. At the bottom of the staircase was a door. She was pure energy, sentient and whole. There were three hooks next to the door, each one had a different skin. “Choose wisely,” the symbols said in her mind. Carefully she donned a new life and opened the door.
What things are weighing you down? Is it time to let them go? And now you can take a deep breath in and exhale. A deep breath in and exhale. Deep breath in and exhale. And when you're ready, wiggle your toes. Wiggle your fingers and slowly open your eyes. If you're enjoying this podcast, please tell a friend.
Closing: Closing jazzy keyboard and thrumming bass. Hope you enjoyed today's segment. Tell a friend. See you next time. Music fades.
