Margot the Meerkat Stands to Attention

[Part 3 in our series of characters inspired by Moodscope's 20 Cards! I've always wanted to write Children's Stories - and this series is written in that style... but for adults! If you're happy to release your inner five-year-old you should enjoy this!]

...and so, if you are sitting comfortably, I shall begin...

Alice the Aardvark and Margot the Meerkat are the BEST of friends. Alice is very down to earth, keeping herself to herself, and Margot always seems to have her head in the clouds.

"Why do you always stand so tall?" said Alice one day, "I'm curious. Did you go to finishing school?"

Margot laughed, "No, it's my crazy Grandma and Grandpa – they were both in the military – and they make all the grandchildren stand to attention as soon as they can hold themselves up. They say it's 'cos we notice things that other animals miss! I've kept doing it because I not only see amazing things every day, I FEEL amazing when I stand tall!"

"Climb up on my back - I wish you could notice and find some fresh termites, I'm really hungry!" said Alice.

Margot climbed on Alice's back - saw what she suspected all along, and then thought about how best to share this discovery with Alice so that Alice could learn too. Inspiraiton hit her and she said, "Why don't you try standing to attention, like me?" said Margot.

"I'll get dizzy, silly!" said Alice... and thinking twice continued, "Actually, I'll be OK if I rest against something tall."

The two friends walked to the nearest Baobab Tree and Alice s-t-r-e-t-c-h-e-d up as high as she could.

"Attention!" commanded Margot and they both burst into fits of giggles, falling to the ground again.

Once they'd got a grip on themselves, they both stood to attention again, and, looking around on the tip of her toes, Alice saw the world as if for the first time. There were termite castles everywhere – as far as her eyes could see.

"So THIS is what it is like to be attentive!" said Alice.

"Yes!" agreed Margot, "There are so many possibilities when we stand tall and look outwards, as far as the eye can see. The world can be an amazing place."

"I feel strangely happy," smiled Alice – her face flushed with pleasure.

"That's because you're seeing possibilities that were invisible to you before," said Margot, "And that gives us more hope. Be attentive and notice new things today, and tomorrow you'll be living in a new world – a bigger, wider, grander world!"

...

Of course, it would only be right if the two friends rode off into the Sunset, wouldn't it? Well, they didn't exactly 'ride' but they did stroll off, content, side-by-side, occasionally standing attentively to attention, and chatting about all manner of new treasures they discovered on their way back home...

That night, before she went to sleep, Alice said dreamily, "Every day, I'm going to say out loud, 'Attention!' and then stand to attention at least once, looking for things I couldn't see before..." and then she giggled to herself and gently snored her way deep into happy dreams of a bigger, brighter world.

A story by Lex - A Moodscope member.

...and now, part 2...

After a couple of weeks of playing the "Attentive Attention Game," Alice said to Margot, "You are SO good at this... you seem to notice quite a lot more than me. I'm not complaining, I just wanted to know if you can share how you do that?"

Margot smiled and shared... "Firstly, Alice, I know that the taller I hold myself - standing to attention - the more confident I feel. The way I feel really changes the game - I get much better at it when I feel confident. Then I play a game within a game, dear Alice. Have you noticed I put my paws together when we play the game?"

Alice nodded and said, "Aha! I was wondering why you did that!"

Margot said, "I use each finger to draw my attention to a different sense - it's a way to focus. So when I gentle squeeze my index fingers together, I just concentrate on what I can see now that I may have missed before. My middle fingers are squeezed together to focus on what I can hear now that I didn't notice earlier. My ring fingers represent what I'm feeling with my body. Little fingers are for what I can smell... and, well you've guessed, my thumbs pressed together remind to focus on what I can taste."

"Let's have a go, now!" said Alice - clearly enthusiastic to give it a bash!

As Alice used the technique for the first time, she said to herself in wonder, "Wow! There are worlds within worlds within worlds."

...

And while you're reading this, you can have a go too. In Neuro-Linguitic Programming (NLP), we call this 'Sensory Acuity' - being present and aware of what our senses are signalling to us. When we are distracted by our own thoughts, we can easily miss the signals and messages others are sending to us - say in a meeting for example. Using this simple 'nudge' - we can often pick up the clues we need to become more sensitive communicators.

Margot and Alice will be back soon with more adventures explaining how we can be here now, and understand one another at much deeper levels.

...fin...

Addendum

If you'd like to keep continuity with other blogs in this series, here are the links to the first two of the twenty planned:

The series is called, "The Moodscope Men," not out of any gender bias but in celebration of Roger Hargreaves' series, "The Mister Men." I loved these when the kids were little, and still love them now that the grandchildren are growing into them.

Moodscope is a Life-Saver

Moodscope.com is a potentially life-saver, and certainly a life-line for the one-in-four of us who face mental wellness challenges at some time in our life. The lite version of the scope is free. It helps each member 'scope' their moods - and mood shifts - over as many times as they take the test. The ideal rhythm is daily. Those suffering from bi-polar swings can see the shift for themselves AND have the scope results sent automatically to designated 'buddies' who support them.

I would appreciate you spreading awareness of this amazing resource. Sharing this post will help. Even if you don't suffer yourself, you can help others by signing up and becoming someone's buddy. I guarantee you'll find plenty of people you know who suffer from mental misery. You can help make a difference... and for that, and for readying thus far, "Thank You!"