A Simple Tale

A Simple Tale
By Vicky Armstrong

Far far away, in a dark distant forest stood a wise old tree, it was known for its love of life as well as displaying tough love when it came to protecting the things that it held most precious.

The wise old tree stood proud, head and shoulders above all the other growing saplings that sprawled out across the tip of its roots and beyond, for as far as the eye could see. The tree’s foliage was magnificent, reaching out like a huge colourful canopy over the undulating landscape which eventually led down to a beautiful meandering river which was as blue as the bluest lagoon.

Can you picture such a wondrous place? If you close your eyes you can almost feel it’s refreshing coolness, in fact it was so incredibly breath taking, that the wise old tree had likened it to what it imagined tree utopia to be like.

The wise old tree had enjoyed many, many years of standing there looking out and admiring the view, believing that it knew all that was needed to be known. It hoped that it had demonstrated to the saplings how big they might grow and how strong they might feel one day. They too could enjoy being head and shoulders above the rest if they took notice of all the wise words the old tree had shared with them.

Then one day, quite out of the blue when the sun was going down at the end of a long drizzly day, one of the small saplings noticed that a number of its friends were starting to gracefully slide down the hill on which they all stood. He cared to notice that they were heading straight towards the beautiful blue meandering river, the small sapling knew instinctively that something was dreadfully wrong and shouted over to the wise old tree to ask what could be done to stop them sliding down the hill and falling into the river where they would be swept away, never to be seen again.

The wise old tree thought for a moment, then taking a long deep breath it suggested that if the saplings weren’t strong enough to survive the fall then they would have to be left alone to their fate!

The small sapling didn’t believe that it was their time to go, they were just starting out and full of promise. The sapling asked the wise old tree to do something before it was too late. “Hold out one of your long, strong branches he shouted!” But the wise old tree knew better than to risk damaging one of its many magnificent branches, “Just ask them to drink as much as they can, as fast as they can ” it replied, in the hope that they would suck up the excess moisture in the ground and stop themselves from gliding down the banking.

The small sapling despaired, it was impossible, nothing was changing, the ground was too sodden, and they were heading inexorably into the river.

The sapling pleaded with the wise tree “There must be something more we can do, think wise old tree, think!”

This is the only way I know because it’s happened before and if they are strong enough they will survive!

Needless to say, there were casualties; none of the small sapling’s group of friends survived the landslide. The small sapling was unhappy with the advice that he had been given and he believed

that there must have been another option , it was such a waste. He considered what would have happened if they had thrown a vine around one of the branches of the wise old tree and then around his friends to stop them from sliding. What would have happened then, he wondered? Surely the strength of the wise old tree would have helped the less experienced younger trees to survive the land slide and prevented them from being washed away, so prematurely!

The young sapling was left feeling sad and he wished that he had asserted himself more when asking the wise old tree for help.

Following a short silence, he shouted across to the old tree “what were you afraid of? Did you think one of your boughs might break?”

The wise old tree didn’t respond, instead it sat back and thought for a while and then a while longer……..

Suddenly a question presented itself, what had to be true for the small sapling? And indeed, what was its own truth?

The Hare and the Tortoise

The Hare and the Tortoise
By Linzi Gate

So today I am going to be telling you the story of ‘The Hare and the Tortoise’. Now I know that you are thinking that you already know that story however this is slightly different so sit back and listen to the NLP version.

Picture a lovely summers day in the heart of the beautiful Lake District, a great day for many things and especially a race.

Two great friends, Hare and Tortoise were standing at the start. Hare was hopping from foot to foot and raring to go. He was totally focussed on the route and the journey ahead of him. He had spent several days thinking about the race, planning his strategy in his head and he had estimated it would take him 45 minutes with 1 rest break. Tortoise had also spent time thinking about his strategy and he had come fully prepared with his rucksack.

The starter called the two to the line. The sound of the starting pistol pierced the air and Hare disappeared off down the path at top speed. He ran and ran and after about 20 minutes he checked his watch, ‘time for my rest break’ he thought and sat himself down for 5 minutes. Hare was pleased with himself as he had made good progress and was right on target. He checked back along the path and Tortoise was nowhere to be seen, ‘excellent’ he thought and carried on at top speed towards the finish line.

When he reached the finish line, who should be sat there waiting but Tortoise ! Hare was astounded. ‘How on earth did you get here?’ he asked breathlessly.
‘Well I just followed the path’ said Tortoise calmly
‘But I followed the path’ replied Hare, very confused
‘Ah, I took another path’ said Tortoise
‘There isn’t another path’ said Hare ‘there are fields on either side of that one and the grass is so long you can’t get through them’
‘Yes but I have all the resources I need’ said Tortoise. ‘I created a new pathway, you could call it a new neural pathway’ he continued. ‘Once I got to the pond, I spoke to the frogs and they told me ‘There is always choice’. So I carried on. When I came to the squirrels in the forest, I wasn’t sure I was going in the right direction. They told me ‘everyone has a different map of the world’ so I carried on again. I came to the edge of the field and wasn’t sure where to go, I had several choices, so I nearly stopped there and gave up however the mice in the long grass told me ‘the person with the most flexibility controls the situation’ so I decided to follow the hedge and soon I came to the finish line’.

Hare was gutted. ‘I was so organised, I planned my route, was totally focussed on the outcome, gave my absolute best performance and I have still failed’ he said forlornly.
‘No’ said Tortoise, ‘there is no failure only feedback, let me enlighten you’.
‘You are by far the fastest runner and were obviously going to beat me easily. You were organised and focussed and you certainly gave your all, however you only had one route to take and there was no flexibility in your plan. I, on the other hand, had rather a lot of help’. Hare smiled and knew his efforts hadn’t been in vain. Tortoise continued ‘Oh and I obviously had the advantage’.
‘What advantage?’ asked Hare
‘Well I told you earlier that I have all the resources I need’ and with that Tortoise turned back to his rucksack and pulled out a copy of his favourite book, NLP at Work by Sue Knight. ‘I have been Florenced !’ he said triumphantly.

Flying Bananas

Flying Bananas
By Simon Long

The Alps in winter are simply majestic, but for my money in summer they are even better.

The sheer scale of the Mountains, the distant snow-capped peaks with far off glaciers feeding steams, which cascade over the alp to the valley below.

The beauty of the meadows, resplendent with alpine flora, the sweet smell of freshly mown hay, the far off, almost “musical” sound of cow bells, as the herds are tended by the locals.
We love the Alps, and our first trip there, as a family, was something Mum and Dad anticipated eagerly.

Eventually the time came, 3 children, aged 6, 4 and 3 year; old enough to enjoy this wonderful playground.

As ever, it was a long journey to the resort, but in compensation it was a beautiful day, clear blue skies, not a cloud in the sky.
As we drove along the wide valley floor, in the distance we saw the far off shapes of para-gliders.

When we got closer we could make out the individual wings, with their pilots, skillfully defying gravity as they rode the thermals – a sight to behold and wonder at.

“Children, children – see the paragliders!” – they looked up from their gadgets.

Then the silence was broken from the rear seats as Bruce shouted “look at the flying bananas Dad, flying bananas!!”

We nearly drove off the road with laughter…. Life was good….!

Are We There Yet?

Are We There Yet?
By Jim Maguire

As I sit to write this story I am reminded of journeys taken as a child and whether “we are there yet?” I recall it clearly as we travelled away, “are we there yet”. It never seemed to matter where “there” was or what “there” felt and looked like we just needed to be “there”.

And this got me thinking about our journey and why we are all here today. I pictured us all on a bus with Florence driving; I quickly changed my mind and put her down as the “tour guide”; expertly taking us past all of the best sites and must see venues spending time at each. The time spent was agreed by us all before we jumped back on the bus and let each other have a go at driving. At first we all were reluctant passengers but soon got the hang of just letting others drive. At times we will all see or hear something that we want to stop and look at in great detail; a view or a sound. And that may mean that we all need to sit and look at the view and that is ok. That thought brought me back to “there” and how will we know when we reach “there”.

This made me consider my journey as a child again and journeys I have taken many times since. And despite taking the same road many times each one has led me to different sites, sounds and experiences. Those journeys continue and actually that is ok. We just need to be patient we soon will be “there”.

The Circus

The Circus
By Kerry Glaister

Once upon a time there was a circus, the circus was a small family business but it was very much respected across the land. It travelled miles and miles entertaining many families and children. Whenever the circus was in town there was always an atmosphere of excitement and anticipation.

The biggest star attraction was the big cat finale and the lady lion tamer. Everyone was always amazed how this lady had such power and uncanny knowledge on these wild creatures. She trained small little panther baby cats right through to big strong and proud lions. There always seemed to be an unspoken language between them, she just knew how they worked and how to “talk” to them to get the best out of them to make them perform.

One day the circus rocked up in the Lake District, it was not an unusual night apart there was a slightly bigger crowd, the lights were bright and everyone was excited to see the big cat finale at the end of the show.

The lion tamer stepped out into the ring and all her cats came running out to perform. When she grabbed for her whip, she realised it had somehow snapped and the whip just fell by her side, she feared she could not make the cats perform like she did all the times before. The big strong proud lion sensed her fear and scratched her with his big playful paw. She was mortified, upset and very very embarrassed.

She quickly finished the show but her nerves were shot and she didn’t want to return to the ring without her whip, it was the only one she ever had. She feared she could never go near the big lions without her whip again.

She searched high and low but alas not a whip was to be found.

Sometime later…… the circus ‘rocked’ up again in the Lakes she stepped out into the ring with the lions, she smiled confidently at the audience and the people clapped and cheered…………

The Rat Race

The Rat Race
By Steve Balmer

Far beneath the VIBRANCY, COLOUR and ENERGY of the big outside World was Rodent Village, a place occupied by all manner of long tailed furry animals. Rodent Village was ran by the Wise Old Rats who over time had created a safe, friendly, albeit DULL environment for the occupants to live in. The Wise Old Rats lived in palatial style properties high up on the drain pipes looking down over the occupants of Rodent Village.

To keep the masses happy they employed the services of Mrs Mouse. They had entrusted Mrs Mouse with this task as she was hard working, HONEST and TRUSTWORTHY. She also wore her HEART on her sleeve and was never scared to share her life experiences which created an aura of RESPECT from her staff. Her days were spent managing the Mice Workers, who kept Rodent Village clean, tidy and just how the Wise Old Rats liked it. The Mice Workers were often young and inexperienced and were happy to go that extra mile to work for Mrs Mouse as they enjoyed listening to her life stories and the fact that unlike the Wise Old Rats they actually believed what she said. You see the Wise Old Rats constantly preached a message to the masses that the big outside World was a DANGEROUS, UNPREDICTABLE place for Rodents to live and that the SAFETY of Rodent Village was where everyone’s long term future belonged. Why would anyone want to RISK what they had for the UNKNOWN?

Mrs Mouse although content with her role as manager of the Mice Workers and well rewarded with whatever cheese she desired, always had a GUT feeling that something was not right. You see she wanted to see what the big outside World was actually like, rather just rely on the Wise Old Rats version of what it looked like. Although common sense suggested that she stay in her job that gave her SECURITY and much happiness to others including her family, she always FELT she was missing something.

The Wise Old Rats regularly invited Mrs Mouse to their huge homes, as they too enjoyed her company and stories. As time went by she began to decline their offers of an evening of opulence to spend more time with the Mice Workers after work in their humble dwellings. She had more FUN with the inexperienced younger Mice Workers, spending many an hour after work sharing stories, LAUGHING together and despite having nothing on the face of it in common with them, other than no understanding of the outside big World than the one portrayed by the wise old Rats, the mutual RESPECT for each other GREW and GREW.

As the relationship between Mrs Mouse and the younger Mice began to BLOSSOM so did their work in changing the overall surroundings of Rodent Village. Gradually the once DULL, DANK surroundings seemed to BRIGHTEN, so much so that the Wise Old Rats would look down from their lofty perches and surprisingly want to spend more time with their people, to experience this new found VIBRANCY. Despite this initial acceptance of change in Rodent Village, the Wise Old Rats gradually begun to feel sceptical and threatened by it. They were also SCARED that it may begin to look like the BIG BAD World to which their ancestors had told them so many BAD things about.

One night during conversations with her Mice workers, Mrs Mouse began to discuss what they all thought the outside World looked like. Various ideas and thoughts flowed like a RIVER, ranging from SCARY and DANGEROUS to COLOURFUL and FUN, however everyone was RESPECTED and listened to. Over hearing the RICH dialogue was one of the Wise Old Rats and angered by these discussions he scurried quickly up to his colleagues homes to tell them.

The very next morning Mrs Mouse was summoned to the Wise Old Rats homes and in no uncertain terms asked to stop spending so much time with the Mice workers or putting such thoughts in their heads. Instead of feeling upset she suddenly felt the WEIGHT had been lifted from her shoulders and standing up as a TALL as a GIRAFFE THANKED the Wise Old Rats for their KINDNESS and asked to be relieved from her duties. She quickly packed her bags and without chance to say goodbye to her Mice Workers was escorted to the train station.

Looking at the destinations board she considered the various other Mouse Villages listed that she could go to. She walked up to the ticket office and confidently asked much to the dismay of the ticket master for “A one way ticket to the big outside World please”.

Sat waiting on her own at the platform Mrs Mouse smiled at thought of the new LIFE that was in front of her. Suddenly her silence was broken by the LOUD noise of TINY footsteps and EXCITED voices coming toward her. She looked to see all of Mouse Villages Mice Workers coming onto the same platform; bags packed all holding one way tickets.

From their palatial homes the Wise Old Rats looked down onto the now DESOLATE Mouse Village and smiled knowing that it was back to being a safe, friendly, albeit DULL environment once again…………………………………..

THE END

The Lady in the Lake

The Lady in the Lake
By Andy Dixon

The lady and the lake had a regular acquaintance. “Good morning fine lady and how are you today?” The lake would pronounce. The voice was greeted with a distinguished smile, an eloquent look, and a nod of calculated thought! An air of calm, a tactful pause, an unassuming stare, a considered view, but still the silence remained!

“Good morning fine lady and how you are today” the lake pronounced again! A thoughtful face, a warm embrace, a friendly grin, stayed well within. A resolute stance, no need to dance, observant mode, and serene, composed, cordial type, no need for hype! But the silence still remained!

“How are you today” the lake proclaimed, no further questions on the way! Self-control remained within, whilst further calculated thoughts begin! Ingenious, apt, creative and clever, all within this imaginative figure! One final check it’s time to go, return to the world most of us know! Silence maintained a self -check complete, not answering the voice, not needing receipt.

So what was the question being asked by the lake? The magical water surely could not be a fake! The mystery within would surely unveil, no voice has a lake, nor such a distinct tale. The answer’s the image, reflection we see when we look in deep water, a reflection of thee!