Once upon a time, there was a boy named Arjun. Arjun loved to move his body. He liked to jump and hop and run. Whoosh!
He had red shoes that went squeak, squeak, squeak when he walked. One sunny morning, Arjun saw a big sign. The sign said'The Mental Health Marathon. 'Arjun scratched his head.
He wondered,'What is a Mental Health Marathon? 'He asked his friend Dr. Lee. Dr.
Lee was a therapist. That means she was a doctor for feelings. She wore a soft blue coat and a warm smile. Dr.
Lee said,'Arjun, this race is special. It is not about running fast. It is about taking care of your heart and your mind. 'Arjun thought this sounded fun.
'I want to join! 'he said with a big grin. On the day of the race, the sky was bright blue. The grass was green and tickled Arjun's toes.
There were many children there. Some were tall. Some were small. Arjun stood at the starting line.
His heart went thump, thump, thump. He felt excited. A whistle blew. Tweet!
The race began. Zoom! Everyone started running. Arjun ran fast.
He ran past the big trees. He ran past the shiny pond. Splash! A frog jumped into the water.
Arjun kept running. But then, something happened. Arjun's legs began to feel heavy. His head felt full of fuzzy clouds.
He felt sad. He felt tired. He stopped running. He sat down on the soft grass.
'Oh no,'thought Arjun. 'I am not fast enough. I want to go home. 'Can you guess what happened next?
Just then, Dr. Lee walked by. She was not running fast. She was walking slowly and calmly.
She saw Arjun sitting alone. She sat down right next to him. 'Hello, Arjun,'Dr. Lee said softly.
'How are you feeling? 'Arjun looked at his shoes. 'I feel sad,'he said. 'My legs hurt.
I feel like I cannot do it. 'Dr. Lee nodded her head. 'It is okay to feel sad, Arjun,'she said.
'Sometimes, our minds get tired just like our legs. Do you know what we do when we are tired? 'Arjun shook his head. 'We rest,'said Dr.
Lee. 'We breathe. 'Dr. Lee closed her eyes.
She took a deep breath in. Whoosh. She let the breath out slowly. Haaaa.
'You try it,'she said. Arjun closed his eyes. He took a big breath. Whoosh.
He smelled the pretty flowers. He let the breath out. Haaaa. He did it again.
Whoosh. Haaaa. Suddenly, Arjun felt a little bit lighter.
The fuzzy clouds in his head went away. He opened his eyes. 'I feel better,'Arjun said. Dr.
Lee smiled. 'See? Kindness to yourself is the best magic. 'They stood up together.
'We do not have to run fast,'said Dr. Lee. 'We can just go at our own speed. Step by step.
'So, Arjun and Dr. Lee started to walk. They did not zoom. They went stomp, stomp, stomp.
As they walked, they saw a little bird. The bird looked hungry. Arjun stopped. He took a crumb from his pocket and gave it to the bird.
Tweet, tweet! The bird ate the crumb and flew away. Arjun felt a warm happy feeling in his chest. Helping the bird made him feel strong.
'That was kind, Arjun,'said Dr. Lee. 'Kindness fills us up with happy energy. 'Arjun felt ready to move again.
He started to jog. He remembered to breathe. Whoosh. Haaaa.
He saw a friend who was crying. Arjun stopped. He gave his friend a hug. His friend stopped crying and smiled.
Arjun felt even stronger. He was not just running for himself. He was running with kindness. Finally, Arjun saw the finish line.
It had balloons of every color. Red, blue, yellow, and green. Arjun ran across the line. He did not come in first place.
He did not come in second place. But he felt like a winner. Dr. Lee was there waiting.
She gave him a high five. Slap! 'You did it, Arjun! 'she said.
'You finished the Mental Health Marathon. 'Arjun laughed a big, happy laugh. Giggle, giggle! He learned that taking care of his feelings and being kind to others was the best race of all.
And he lived happily ever after, with a happy heart and a happy mind.