Get Sleepy: Sleep meditation and stories - Kayaking on the Santa Fe River (Premium)

Episode Date: September 21, 2020

This is a preview episode. Get the full episode, and many more, ad free, on our supporter's feed: https://getsleepy.com/support. Kayaking on the Santa Fe RiverTonight, Nadine reads the runner-up in our latest social media poll. It's a tranquil adventure on a pristine river in Florida. 😴  Sound design: rocking chair on the porch, breeze, crickets.    About Get Sleepy Premium: Help support the podcast, and get: Monday and Wednesday night episodes (with zero ads) The exclusive Thursday night bonus episode Access to the entire back catalog (also ad-free) Premium sleep meditations, extra-long episodes and more! We'll love you forever. ❤️ Get a 7 day free trial, and join the Get Sleepy community here https://getsleepy.com/support. And thank you so, so much.  Tom, and the team. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hi, Thomas here. You're listening to a preview episode. You can enjoy the entire story tonight by subscribing to our supporters' feed. There you'll get access to the entire back catalogue, bonus episodes, and more, and it's all completely ad-free. Click the link below to learn more and thank you so so much. Me and the team really appreciate your support. On the wraparound porch of an antique farmhouse, you finish lacing up your shoes and slowly sit back in a handmade rocking chair. It creaks softly against the scuffed wooden floorboards as you sway back and forth. It's easy to fall into the rhythm of the rocking as your knees slowly flex and then relax. You find your breath begins to align with the movement of the chair, breathing in as it sways backwards and exhaling as you return to centre.

It's a soothing rhythm. You can imagine sitting here all day, watching the light shift against the farmhouse walls as the sun traces its path across the sky. Perhaps you will another day. You carefully stand up from the rocking chair, placing one hand on the back to slow its movement. You bend down, pick up your small pack of belongings and set out on the dirt path leading away from the front of the house. The warmth of the mid-morning sun is a welcome sensation on your skin. You feel the slightest prickle of heat against your hair follicles, and it sends a familiar tingle up your spine. Lime green and powder blue dragonflies flutter by, buzzing gently as they dance in and out

of the grass on either side of the path. In the air you detect a sweet, clean aroma, perfumed with the unmistakable tang of orange blossoms. You reach out and run your fingertips through the waste high grass around you. The blades bend gently, only to spring back upright after your hand passes. You hear the soft rustling of their movement against your skin. As you walk, you notice the landscape slowly transform from dense tall grasses to clusters of lean, willowy trees that surround the path. Their roots are craggy and bent, reaching into the ground for the fresh water aquifers that sustain them.

You continue down the path, tracing the pattern of the roots with your gaze. the path, tracing the pattern of the roots with your gaze. Before long, you find yourself in a clearing. Here, the dirt path you've been following joins several others and widens at the juncture. This walkways lined with fresh brown mulch and carefully planted gladiolis flowers. In the sun, the fragrant blooms and woody composites combine to create an intoxicating earthy aroma. You bend down slightly to inspect one of the gladiolous flowers. From this perspective, you can see that last night's rain left the petals heavy with clear droplets. You reach down and brush your hand on one of the sword shaped petals. A lone drop of water makes a leap onto your fingertip,

only to roll off, falling to the ground and disappearing into the mulch. Back on the path, you listen to your footsteps padding one by one on the ground. You count the steps silently in your head and let your body fall into the repetitive movement. After a few minutes you reach a small charming building, styled like a log cabin with overlapping timbers and a short peaked roof. The words welcome centre are written in block lettering above the double door entryway. A few palm trees stand like centuries on either side. They seem to greet you with a gentle rustling of their fronds. Stations near the entrance, just before the towering palms,

is a large, colourful map of the area. You take a moment to study it and orient yourself around the large purple arrow that reads, you are here. Winding through the centre of the map is the Santa Fe River, a modest body of water. That, like many in the area, goes completely underground at one point along its path. Today's adventure will keep you up above ground though, as you plan to explore the river under the open sky. You hear the soft crunch of footsteps off the path.

You turn and find a woman standing there. She introduces herself as one of the local guides. She noticed you studying the sign. You'd like to see the sights along the river you tell her, but you're not sure where to start. After a brief conversation, you decide that a guided kayak tour is the perfect way for you to relax and experience this beautiful waterway, first hand. you