“’Tree Hugger!’ I said with excitement. It was so good to see her! She sat next to me and we started talking for a while. The conversation turned deep when she realized I wasn’t feeling the best. I guess I had enough, holding everything inside was too much for me. So, I spilled everything out to her. Thank goodness for Tree Hugger… She had her hand on my shoulder the entire time and gave me multiple hugs. She let me vent, and even though at the time I felt bad, I’m glad I got it out; it felt good to release all the gunk and negative feelings I had trapped inside me. After I was done venting, I noticed Tree Hugger was sitting up straight with her eyes closed and she was breathing slowly. She told me about her mediation routine and how she handles stress and bad feelings. I decided to join her and she told me to “Listen to my surroundings and go with the flow.” This was the first time I felt happy and free. During the meditation process, I saw myself holding a large, red exercise ball, squeezing it on my torso and it was getting bigger with every minute I held onto it. Seeing that made me tear up once again… Tree Hugger said something to me that stuck with me and continues to ring in my head even as I write this.

“’As Dolly Llama says… We can let the circumstances of our lives harden us so that we become increasingly resentful and afraid, or we can let the soften us, and make us kinder. You always have the choice.’”

“After she said that, I saw myself loosening my grip on the ball. After some time, it rolled off my body and disappeared. I looked down at my chest and saw the outline of the ball. After I opened my eyes, I told Tree Hugger what I saw, and she explained that the ring around my torso will fade away in time…”