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Please send us a voice memo, drawing, or letter at hello@likeyoupodcast.com. We play a voice memo from a listener at the beginning of most episodes. If your child wants to be included, record a voice memo on your phone and email it to us. Your child can introduce themself and then say a favorite affirmation, sing a line from a Like You song, say what they like about the show, or share whatever they feel! Keep it short (10-20 seconds), send it to our email, and then wait patiently. It is our goal to share every recording eventually!

Like You is written and produced by Noah Glenn. The show’s artwork was illustrated by Mia Saine. Episode art is created by Lindsey Glenn.

This episode features original music by Noah Glenn, as well as additional music by IMAKEMADEBEATS.

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Noah: Hello! I’m Noah and this is Like You, a mindfulness podcast for kids. I’m glad you’re here! Today we’ll talk about feelings, imagining they are visitors stopping by for a while before moving on. First, a reminder for any grownups listening. Our podcast is listener supported, and we’d love to have your help to make more episodes possible. You can join our Patreon group at patreon.com/likeyoupodcast to get early access to episodes, original song downloads, and other special perks. You can also check out the shirts, stickers, and other items in our online shop, which you can find at likeyoupodast.com. And as always, please tell your friends or leave a review on Apple Podcasts to help spread the word. Now we’re ready to start today’s episode! So find a place to listen where you feel comfortable and safe. Feel free to speak up and chime in with your own thoughts or responses, but if you’d rather keep those thoughts quiet in your head, that’s ok too.

Let’s start with a simple breathing exercise.

As we breathe in and out, we will say hello and goodbye to each breath. It’s hard to speak out loud while you’re breathing in, so you can say all the hellos and goodbyes in your head, by just thinking the words. I’ll say the words out loud while you’re thinking and breathing. Here we go. Deep breath in. Heeeelllloooooooooo. Hold the breath for a moment and thank it for helping you breathe. Now breathe out as we think gooooodbyyyyyye. Now you’ve got the hang of it. Let’s do a few more breaths. Deep breath in. Hello. Hold onto that breath, thank you. Now slowly breathe it out. Goodbye. Breathe in. Hello. Thank you breath. And breathe out. Goodbye. One last time. Take a long breath in. Hello. Thank the breath for being here. And breath it out with a long goodbye. Now on the count of three we’ll all say “I like me.” 1-2-3. I like me.

I like you too. You are a breath of fresh air. You fill the room with your presence, and we’re all thankful when you’re around.

Let’s talk about feelings. You can start. How many different feelings can you name? I’m listening.

There are so many feelings. Happy, sad, angry, lonely, jealous, anxious, peaceful, confused, frustrated, regretful, excited, goofy, thankful, and many many more.

We all feel many different feelings. Sometimes it’s one feeling at a time, sometimes we even feel many things at once. It’s true for you and for me, and for everyone you know. Any feeling you have, others have had it too. But no feeling stays forever. A feeling comes, and it may hang around for a while, but eventually it leaves. It’s like a visitor or a guest, someone who stops by to say hello, to visit for a while, but sooner or later heads back to their own place.

I know most of us have had a lot fewer guests and visitors in our lives lately, and I bet you have lots of feelings about that. Today we’re going to imagine our feelings as visitors stopping by. We’ll do a few together as practice, then I’ll ask you to try it yourself. Since we’re using our imagination, it may help to close your eyes. Imagine you’re sitting at home when you hear a knock on the door.

[knock knock] It sounds like our first visitor has arrived. Imagine yourself walking to the door, opening it up and saying hello to your guest. And your guest says “Hello!”

Let’s introduce ourselves. “Hi, I’m Noah.” Your turn to introduce yourself.

And now your visitor says “my name is Worry.” Now that we know our visitor’s name, let’s find out why they stopped by. What are you doing here today, Worry?

Worry says “I’m here because I don’t know what might happen tomorrow, and that makes me nervous that something bad could happen.”

And how can we respond to Worry? You know what Worry? I feel that way sometimes too. You’re welcome to visit every once in a while, because I know you’re here to try to protect me. But I can look around and see that I am safe here. So I want you to know that I am brave, and strong, and I try my best to wish good things for myself and for the people I love. So, Worry, why don’t you take a deep breath with me [breathe]. And now I think it’s time for you to be on your way. Goodbye Worry.

And Worry says goodbye and walks out the front door and walks away.

[knock knock] Well, it sounds like we have another visitor. Let’s see who is it. Imagine opening the door and you see your guest outside. Hello, I’m Noah what’s your name? You can introduce yourself to the visitor too.

And the visitor says, “Hi, my name is Excited! And I’m so glad to be here!”

Let’s ask Excited why they stopped by today. Imagine they reply “I’m here because I get to spend time with my podcast friends, and I always have a good time!”

Well, that’s a good reason to be excited. Why don’t we invite Excited to come in and hang out for a while?

[knock knock] Hmmm. We already have Excited visiting us, I wonder who else could be at the door. Let’s check. Imagine opening the door and you see 3 more visitors. They all introduce themselves. One says “My name is Nervous.” Another one says “I’m Happy.” And the third one says “Hi, my name is Silly.”

It looks like we have a party getting started with our guests Excited, Nervous, Happy, and Silly. You know it’s possible to feel all these different feelings at once. That might make it hard to figure out who they all are sometimes. You might mistake Excited for Happy, or mix up Nervous with Worry. And that’s all ok. Just remember that your feelings are visitors who come and go. You can talk to them to figure out why you’re feeling them, you can invite them to stay a while if you like that feeling, and you can ask them to leave when you’re ready for them to go. Feelings come and feelings go. No feeling stays forever.

Now I’ve lead you through a few visitors, so it’s your turn next. First, we’ll break up the party and send Excited, Happy, Nervous, and Silly on their way. Goodbye everyone! See you next time!

Now, it’s your turn to meet a visitor. Check in with yourself. How are you feeling right now? Maybe it’s one of the feelings we’ve already met. Maybe it’s something new. Stop and think for a moment about how you feel right now.

Once you’ve thought of how you’re feeling. imagine you hear another knock at the door.

[knock knock] You walk to the door, you open it up, and you see a new visitor. Imagine it’s the feeling you are feeling now. Tell it hello. Ask it its name. It may say “Hi, I’m Joy!” Or “Hello, my name is Sadness.” Or “What’s up, I’m Calm.” Once you’ve met each other, you can ask your visitor why it stopped by. In other words, what do you think is making you have this feeling? Was it caused by something that happened, something you did, or something someone said? Pretend you are talking to your feeling and it is telling you why it is there.

Now I want you to ask yourself, is this a feeling you want to stay, or a feeling you want to leave? If you want it to stay, you can invite it in, tell it to kick off its shoes, grab a snack, and get comfy.

If it’s a feeling you want to leave, look it in the eye, take a few deep breaths, and then tell it it’s time to for it to go. Walk it to the door, say goodbye, and let it walk away.

Now it’s time to say affirmations. Affirmations are words you can say to yourself to help you feel good about yourself. Listen the first time, then say it with me the second time.

There’s no one better to be than myself

Feelings come and go, but I am always me.

I am so proud of who I am 

I am not alone in my feelings

I will love myself no matter what

I embrace the greatness within me

I make a difference, by just being me

Now let’s smile and take a few deep breaths as we wind down our time together.

I can’t wait to spend some time together again soon. Until then, I like you, I’m proud of you, and I’m glad we are friends. Have a happy and peaceful day.

Like You is written and produced by me, Noah Glenn. I also composed and performed the Like You theme music and other music that appeared in the episode. Additional music came from IMAKEMADBEATS. Our podcast cover art was illustrated by Mia Saine, and our episode art is created by Lindsey Glenn. Our podcast is listener supported, and you can be a part of supporting us by joining our Patreon group at Patreon.com/likeyoupodcast. Other ways to support the show are by telling your friends, writing a review on Apple Podcasts, or checking out our online shop at likeyoupodcast.com. Our website also features show notes for every episode. We love hearing from listeners. You can send us voice memos, drawings and pictures by having a grownup send an email to hello@likeyoupodcast.com. Be sure to follow us on instagram, Facebook, and twitter @likeyoupod. Thanks for listening!