Grownups who are interested in loving kindness can learn more here: https://www.mindful.org/this-loving-kindness-meditation-is-a-radical-act-of-love/

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Please send us a voice memo, drawing, or letter at hello@likeyoupodcast.com. We play a voice memos from listeners either at the beginning of an episode or during the affirmation segment of the episode. If your child wants to be included, record a voice memo and send 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). For more info on how to record and send a voice memo, see this post, or click here.

Like You is a production of Perpetual Motion. The show 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.

This episode’s wishes and affirmations were read by Eso Tolson.

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Noah: Hi everyone! It’s Noah. I’m busy working on new episodes to share in the spring, but I wanted to pop in to say hello and share an encore episode. If you’re looking on ways to support Like You while I’m working on new episodes, there’s a few great things you could do. You could re-listen to your favorite episodes; you could tell a friend about the podcast; you could leave us a 5 star review on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you listen; or you can get access to bonus episodes and other perks by signing up for a subscription through Apple Podcasts or Patreon. 

Since today is Valentine’s Day, I thought I’d reshare an encore of one of my favorite episodes, called A Mindful Way to Say I Love You. I hope you enjoy!

[Intro Music]

Hello! My name is Noah, and this is Like You, a mindfulness podcast for kids. Welcome! I’m very glad you’re here. One of my heroes, Mister Rogers, often said “There are many ways to say I love you.” With Valentine’s Day coming up, I’m sure many of you are thinking and talking about love. So I wanted to share a way we can use mindfulness to say I love you. Today we’re going to make some wishes I call loving kindness wishes. Some of you grownups listening might be familiar with a mindfulness practice known as a loving-kindness meditation. This is kind of like that, except we get to make wishes! Long-time listeners may remember another loving-kindness wish episode we did nearly a year ago, but I thought it was time to revisit  the idea. Don’t forget, you can support this podcast by joining our Patreon group, writing us a review, or telling some friends to listen. So friends of all ages, find a place to listen where you feel comfortable and safe. When I ask you questions, or tell you to repeat something, you can speak out loud, or just think it quietly in your head. 

Let’s start with some breathing. First, I want you to close your eyes and think about your favorite color – a color that makes you smile. Picture that color completely surrounding you, like a colorful bubble of a fluffy cloud that’s hugging you. Each time you breath in I want you to imagine that color growing bigger and brighter all around you. Then when you breathe out, imagine you are blowing that color away, so that it can drift off and find another friend, to make them smile too. Got it? Here we go. Take a deep breath in, as your favorite color grows all around you. Now breath out, blowing the color away to find a friend. Take another deep breath in, feeling your favorite color getting bigger and brighter once again. And a long breath out, as you blow the color away to make a friend smile. Before this next breath, quickly think of the first person that pops into your mind. It could be a friend or family, or anyone at all who you think of. This time we’re going to blow your favorite color to the person you’re thinking of. Take another long breath in, letting your favorite color grow all around you. Now smile wide, and blow the color away to the person you thought of. Picture that person in your mind, and imagine your favorite color suddenly surrounding them like a hug. Imagine their face as they smile, feeling your love.  Great job. Now feel free to open your eyes,r keep them closed if you’d rather. Together we’re going to say “I like me.” On the count of 3. Ready? 1, 2, 3 “I like me!”

I like you too! You are full of love for yourself, for your family, for your friends, and for the world. And there are so many people in your life who love you. You deserve to be loved. Together we’re going to make some wishes. These wishes are a little bit like the breathing exercise we just did, because we’re going to send them out to share a little love with others. We’ll make a few wishes – for someone we love, for someone we don’t know very well, for the whole world, and finally for you.

I’ll start with the easiest wish to make.  I want you to think of someone who you love very very much. Someone who makes you smile. Someone who makes you feel good about yourself. Someone who makes you feel safe and confident, and loved. It might be a family member or your best friend; it could even be a pet! It can be anyone you think of who makes you feel loved. So take a moment or two to think of someone.

Are you thinking of someone? Now I want you to close your eyes and picture that person. Make the picture as clear as you can in your mind. What are they wearing? What color are their eyes, their hair, their skin? Can you imagine what that person smells like? What does their voice sound like? What do they look like when they smile? Now you are going to send this person a wish. I’ll say this wish twice. Listen the first time, then repeat it with me the second time. I want you to imagine you are talking to that person you love as you repeat it with me. 

I wish for you to feel loved. 

I wish for you to feel loved. 

Wonderful. It feels very good to say a wish for someone we love. Now our next wish may be just a little harder to make. I want you to think of someone you don’t know very well. It may be someone from a virtual classroom, who you’ve only ever seen on a computer screen. It may be a neighbor who you see sometimes on the sidewalk, but don’t often talk to. It may be someone you used to see a lot, but now you don’t because of social distancing. I want you to picture a real person who you’ve seen, but who you don’t know very well. Feel free to take a moment to think of someone.

Once you’ve thought of someone you don’t know very well, I want you to picture them the best you can. What color is their hair, their eyes, their skin. What kind of clothes do they like to wear? What is their name, if you know it? What do they look like when they smile? Once you’ve got a picture of this person in your mind, you are going to send this person a wish, just like before. Listen once, then repeat it while imagining you are talking to this person you don’t know well. 

I wish for you to feel loved. 

I wish for you to feel loved. 

Whoever that person is who you pictured, they have people in their life who care for them and who make them feel loved. Parents, siblings, friends, and neighbors. It’s good to remember that we don’t have to know someone well, to wish good things for them. Part of living in the world with other people, is learning to wish for the best for everyone you meet. Everyone is deserving of love.

So that leads us to our next wish. It’s a wish for the whole world. It can be hard to imagine every person in the world, so let’s start small, and zoom out. First, picture your family and your friends. Now add everyone who lives on your street, and everyone in the town where you live. Keep zooming out. Imagine everyone in your country, on your continent, everyone in your hemisphere, until eventually you’ve zoomed out far enough to include everyone in the world. Imagine North America, South America, Africa, Asia, Europe, and anyone who might be all bundled up at the north or south pole. That’s a lot of people. According to estimates, we’re quite close to eight billion people on planet Earth. And we’re going to say a wish for all these people. That makes it a big wish. So take a big breath and then repeat this wish to everyone in the world.

I wish for you to feel loved. 

I wish for you to feel loved. 

Thank you for making these wishes. Our last set of wishes will be for someone very special. You. Give yourself a big hug. Think about all the things that make you, you. What color is your hair, your eyes, your skin? What do you look like when you smile? If you’ve got any wiggly or missing teeth, be sure to include that! What else makes you you? What do you like to do? What makes you smile? Laugh? What are you really good at? Keep thinking about the things that make you you. You’ve done such a great job sending out wishes so far, and now we want to make some wishes for you. Our friend Eso will join us to say a few wishes. You don’t have to repeat anything this time. Just listen as we share some wishes for you.

Eso: I wish for you to be happy.

I wish for you to be healthy.

I wish for you to be safe.

I wish for you to have all that you need.

I wish for you to feel loved.

Noah: I hope those wishes helped you feel very loved. I want to continue that feeling now by saying some affirmations together. Remember, affirmations are words you can say about yourself to help you feel good about yourself. Eso and I will both lead a few affirmations. We’ll say each one twice so you can listen once, then repeat it the second time.

Eso: I woke up today ready to love.

Noah: There’s no one better to be than myself.

Eso: I am full of joy. 

Noah: I am not alone in my feelings.

Eso: I have people who love and respect me. 

Noah: I deserve to be loved.

Now smile, and take a few slow, deep breathas as we wind down our time together, and listen to this song.

I’m glad that I am me

I’m glad that you are you

I’m glad that we both do the things

That we each like to do

I’m glad that I know you

I’m glad you know me too

We’re different but we teach each other

Things we never knew

What if you were me?

And what if I were you?

Would we still do the same things

That we’ve always liked to do? 

I wonder…

But you’ll always be you

And I’ll always be me

We learn and grow and change our clothes

But stay the same beneath

I’m glad that I am me

I’m glad that you are you

I’m proud of how you’re growing

And I like your point of view

And I like you

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!