Fear - Kai Faces an Unclear Path

A strong tiger named Kai wakes to a foggy jungle and learns how to listen to fear, ground in safety, and find support with friends. We guide families through naming fear and trying a playful “fear check” to build courage together.

You can find resources for today's podcast like 2 children's activities and a family reflection on today's feeling at howareyoufeelingtoday.net

If you'd like to share with me or get in touch with me, you can email me at alex@vothcenter.com

You can find more information about The Voice of the Heart Center at vothcenter.com

Transcript

Meet Kai The Tiger

A Morning Turns To Fog

Listening To Fear And Finding Safety

What Fear Means For All Of Us

Fear Check: What Scares You

Practice Builds Courage

Resources And Closing

SPEAKER_00 0:07

Good morning, good afternoon, or good evening. This is Alex Currington coming to you from the Voice of the Heart Center. Welcome to the How Are You Feeling Today Podcast, a podcast for kids and parents who have feelings? I'm really glad you're joining me today. Each time we're together, we'll check in on one very important question. How are you feeling today? Take just a moment, look into your heart and answer the question Am I feeling anger, fear, hurt, sad, lonely, shame, guilt, or glad? If you have someone in the room with you that you can share it with, look at them and name all the feelings that you have right now. If you're listening to this by yourself, think for a moment, who could I share this with today? Today you're going to meet Kai. Kai is a powerful tiger with fur striped deep with orange and black, like sunlight moving through the tall grass of the jungle. Kai has a growl that lets everyone know when he's around. When Kai walks, he moves quietly, but you can feel his strength in the ground beneath his paws. Kai's family is known for their quiet strength. Kai's mother can leap the distance of a school bus. His father is known for his fierce roar that could wake someone up from miles away. Kai's younger sister is able to move through the forest without a sound, almost as if she wasn't even there. His older brother has a roar that mirrors his father's, loud and fierce. The presence of Kai's family alone reminds him how important it is to stand tall and never back down. He often wonders, do I have the same strength that they do? Kai's favorite part of the day is first thing in the morning. When Kai wakes up, he stretches his long, strong body and takes in a deep breath of cool jungle air. Once he's fully awake, Kai laughs as he runs through the jungle, past the tall trees, near the quiet stream, and through the grass that brushes softly against his side. On a hill in the clearing beyond the jungle, Kai noticed the beautiful eagles resting in the treetops, preparing for their first flights of the day. Kai heads towards the quiet stream. As he approaches it, he notices a turtle resting at the edge of the water. A monkey splashes nearby, sending ripples through the stream. A toucan is perched just above in the lower branches of a nearby tree, and close to the rocks of the stream, Kai sees a familiar chameleon blending into the shade. He brushes his fur against the tall, smooth grass. One day, when Kai woke up, things were different. The jungle didn't seem as it normally did. Kai woke up, stretched his long, strong body, but when he opened his eyes, he noticed a dense fog had taken over the jungle. The jungle didn't look like it did yesterday. When Kai looked toward where the tall trees usually are, he only saw a shadow. This left Kai wondering what the shadows could be. When he looked up towards where the eagles would usually prepare for their morning flights, he only heard the screeches that were much scarier this time. The stream seemed farther away than it usually was, and the sound of the water seemed like it was rushing faster than he had ever noticed before. The more Kai looked into the jungle, his favorite part of the day became different. Kai was afraid. Kai's chest began to tighten. The fur on his back raised up. Kai's heart was racing. He stayed still and knew that instead of running from his fear, he needed to listen to his fear. Kai looked at the ground under his paws to know he was safe where he was standing. He took some deep breaths to slow his heart down. He knew he needed to meet his friends back at the water so that he would know he was not alone. The fog was still there, but it did not seem as scary as it used to. The trees slowly started to come back into view. The stream felt closer again, and the jungle became a familiar sight. He moved carefully and stayed near to what he knew. Kai walked gently back to the stream. He looked into the eyes of the toucan, saw the slow, gentle movements of the turtle poking his head out of the water, the ripples of the water from the monkey nearby, and the steady presence of the chameleon on the branch. The turtle looked at Kai and said, We're glad you're here. The fog feels scarier when you're alone. Kai said, It really does. And they joined together for another drink of water. Kai was back home. Did it surprise you that a big strong tiger could be afraid? Kai isn't the only one who feels fear. You feel fear. Your mom and dad feel fear, soldiers feel fear, football players have fear. I have fear. Feeling fear is not weak. Feeling fear allows you to have great strength. We feel fear when something we do not want to happen might actually happen. There are a lot of different things we feel fear about. Like being in the dark alone. When there's a big storm, you see a dog that growls and looks mean. You have to take a big test. Your parents are upset and arguing. You ride a roller coaster. When we feel fear, we sometimes run away and hide, get really quiet, cry, worry, feel sick, or hesitate and become really careful. When is a time that you felt like Kai? Kids and parents share together about a time you felt fear, a time you were scared about something that might happen, or a time you weren't sure what you were supposed to do next. If you would like, pause this podcast and share together. Fear is your heart saying, I don't feel safe and secure. I need guidance and support. When we feel fear, we can start to walk in faith and wisdom. Today we're going to do a fear check. This is a segment where I will call out a couple of different things. And I want you to let us know if any of these things bring up fear for you or not. You can choose to let us know however you'd like. Are you ready? Here we go. Alright, first up, spiders. Creepy, crawly spiders. Do spiders bring up fear for you or not? Alright, next one. Tasting a new food. Tasting a new food. Whether it's a new flavor of ice cream or that specialty flavor of broccoli. Fear or not. Alright, next up. Birds. Do birds bring up fear for you? Okay, really good. Next up is performing in front of a big crowd, whether it's in a band, a ballet, or maybe you're just singing or performing on a field with your team. Does that bring up fear for you? Alright, next one. Mom and dad going away for the night. Is that scary for you or not? Okay, going to the doctor. Going to the doctor. Is going to the doctor scary? Okay, this next one is really tricky. What do you think? Snakes. Slithery, leathery snakes. Do snakes bring up fear for you? Okay, thunderstorms. Thunderstorms bring up fear for you, the bright flash of lightning or the loud sound of the thunder. Thunderstorms. Next one, starting a new job or going to a new school. Is that scary? Flying in an airplane. Flying in an airplane. Taking off in an airplane, landing, being in the air on an airplane. Is that scary? Okay, this is gonna be the last one. Buckle up, here we go. Having a big test at school. Having a big test at school, is that scary? Does that bring up fear for you or not? Well done. I hope you learned something new about yourself and about your fear. Just remember, everything in life is practice. Each time you face one of these challenges is just another round of practice. Thank you for telling the truth today about your fear. When you feel fear, you can ask for help, think about times when things turned out alright, talk about it with someone who loves you, and you can learn more about what brings up fear and what you can do about it. Before we go, here's one more thing we can do together today. Find a quiet moment and sit down with someone you love and draw a picture of a time you felt fear. You don't have to explain it all, just draw. Then, if you want, take turns sharing your pictures. If you'd like to share with me, you can email it to me at alex at Voth Center.com. That's Alex at VOTHcenter.com. You can also find resources for today's podcast like a children's activity, as well as a family reflection on today's feeling at howareyoufeelingtoday.net. That's howareyoufeelingtoday.net. And parents, all this information will be for you in the show notes. Each time you share your heart together, home gets closer to what it was made to be. This has been the How Are You Feeling Today podcast, a podcast for humans with feelings. Thank you for sharing your heart, and until next time, peep heart.