Archie and Tara

All rights reserved; this copy is given to you. For information on copies please contact:
Growing Together Counseling and Education
801 224 3001 http://www.GrowingTogetherCounseling.com



© 1995 see front pages of Dinasaour REX











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© 1995 see front pages of Dinasaour REX


All rights reserved; this copy is given to you. For information on copies please contact:
Growing Together Counseling and Education
801 224 3001 http://www.GrowingTogetherCounseling.com




http://www.fallingpixel.com/product.php/4661


























http://www.sussexdinosaurmuseum.co.uk/pterosaurs.htm



When the
world was young and the
deep blue water covered much of the earth,
there was an island,
far away,
alone in a whole chain of islands,
perhaps, prepared especially for that time
and for that purpose
by the volcanoes
that had spilled their lava in order
for the island to
become a special land.

And there were, then on this island
dinosaurs of many kinds,
dinosaurs of many sizes and many colors
that grew together,
and shared the island.

Some were spotted and some stripped
with plant colors that helped them to
protect themselves
and all had special abilities
that made them each able to
take care of their own needs.

Each had special colors and
special traits that made it
unique and wonderful.

Among the animals that lived on this island then
were two large bird like dinosaurs
with something like wings and perhaps many colors of
soft, fluffy feathers covering their bodies.



At the time that we are imagining,
these flying creatures
had lived on the island many years
and may have began to
grow wise in the ways of life and to
learn many things about looking for happiness,
and about how to
feel happy, comfortable and relaxed.


Some of the younger animals may not have begun to
learn those important lessons..

These creatures names were Archie and Tara,
and as they had been
growing up together for so many years,
enjoying friendship,
learning from one another,
and learning from their experiences
they had come to
be very wise indeed.

The favorite activity that Tara and Archie
enjoyed on he island then was to
climb high into the tallest trees,
climbing claw after claw
up and up branch by branch,
high above the lower bushes and shrubs,
high above the other animals ,
up and up into the very top
of the tallest of trees
where they would perch and
view the world below,
watching the other animals,
seeing the way they played and worked,
sometimes learning from what they saw
sometimes just sitting quietly in the tree tops,
listening carefully to the sounds
of the forest below,
hearing the sound of their own breathing
as it gradually slowed after the long climb,
when they could
feel the freshness of the breeze as
it blew gently across the tops of the trees,
bringing the smells and sounds of the jungle
softly to their senses.

There they would sit quietly,
as their heart beats slowed to match their
long slow breaths that they had
learned to control with much practice.

They knew that to fly they would have to
glide through the air
matching their movements to the
slight breezes that shifted and
changed continually among the tree tops.

Then as if they had to
follow some hidden signal that
others might not be able to see,
Archie and Tara would
push away from the tree branches and
begin to soar together
through the air
gliding and
floating
seeming to weigh
no more than bubbles that
come from the sudsy water of a child's wand,
Dipping and soaring
like a child's kite
high above the earth in a spring wind.

Their wings would stretch
and their legs would roll up under them
like the landing gears of a huge jet airline,
and the two birds would
race across the sky to the far side
of the island where they would
slowly lower themselves through the air,
to the beauty of the sandy beach
where the sun sparkled on the warm sand as
the sound of the ocean waves
lapping gently and steadily against the shore,
breaking and crashing against nearby rocks
yet rocking ever so gently on the sand
where the bird like dinosaurs
landed gently ,
softly feeling themselves
scooping gracefully into that
special hollow of sand where their
enormous heavy bodies could
feel the warmth of the contact on the sand
and their weight seemed to bring them
deeper and deeper
down into the sand
where they basked in the
warmth of the day

remembering the excitement of the flight
and feeling the experience deeply within themselves,
making a special name for it,
a special word or words that would always
bring back the memory of that great feeling
of pleasure they each got as they
repeated this activity,

being with a friend,
setting a new personal best in their fight,
learning from the world around them
that pleasure and happiness can come
in everyday experiences, and we can
remember those experiences and
take them with us into the rest of our day,
into the rest of our lives to
bring back when needed,

to remember the pleasant feeling
at times when things aren't so good,
at times when some peace is needed and
some good feelings just
to get through something unpleasant,
just to cope with things life brings us.

And now as Tara and Archie
lay on that warm sandy beach so long ago,
feeling again the pleasure
of that day, they began to
remind one another of other times
long ago, earlier in their lives when
they still had to
learn to name and remember the pleasant feelings,
and now, they had already learned to
laugh about those times, because the
passing of time could somehow
make the memory different,
as time can do in our lives as well
as in that time,
memories can be changed, and
painful memories can be healed
when we
remember the pleasure
of other times.

The birds had only come from those eggs
a few days when they knew that
playing together and doing things together
was the most special part of their day.

They loved, even then to
climb high up in the trees and
soar long distances, which for them, then
were much shorter than what they have now
learned to do with practice and experience.

But to them, then, they could
soar forever,
and they loved to loop and turn on the
flight down from the tree tops.
seeing how far they could fly forward
as they
floated further
and further
down
enjoying the feeling of flight
along with the feeling
that the earth was
pulling them toward it,
gently
with control of their own wings
they flew lower
and lower,
near and nearer to the ground

On one day Tara had been looping and whirling
alone in a wide open area of the forest ;
Archie had seen her playing
and rushed to join her in her flight.

As Tara gracefully floated down from the tree top,
Archie flew by her and bumped her wing.
Tara said, "I don't like it when you bump my wing,
please don't do that."

But Archie climbed up and
began to soar down close to
Tara again on the other side and bumped her other wing.
She didn't know Archie very well, but she did
know what to do to protect herself and to
take care of herself
so she said again,

"I would like to be your friend but
I do not want you bumping into me.
I don't like that."

Archie came toward her again this time causing her to
spin over as he bumped her laughing as he did that.
Now Tara had already been taught how to deal with a bully.
She knew it would be best to
just ignore him,
fly away and let him play alone
until he decided he would
play in a nice way.

But Tara also knew that
Archie was someone very valuable, as we all are, and
she had wanted to meet him and
learn to be a friend.

She had to make a decision.
If she flew away now that Archie seemed to
want to play with her, he might not ever try again.
But if she let him play rough with her, she might get hurt.

Tara had already told him that she didn't like to play rough, so maybe he would change when they started playing together.
She could have decided to
fly away and wait for a better time,
but instead,
Tara climbed high into a tree and
glided down just above Archie bumping him hard on his wings.

Looking back Archie shouted," hey cut that out,"
but Tara could see he was really laughing,
so she climbed again to hit him from another angle.

Archie saw the bump coming and
changed directions just in time to send Tara sprawling head over heals, her flight out of control and her feathers rumpled. The two dinosaur-birds dove at each other like this for a while, each time hitting harder and harder, bumping --pushing -- scratching and clawing one another, until finally there sat on the floor of the jungle, two dinosaur birds , each in a pile of feathers and blood and tears.

Tara limped off to her tree on her side of the island with one broken wing and a broken heart, and Archie tired to preen his missing feathers, and walked sadly away looking a terrible sight.

They each perched in a low branch of their home trees and as the other animals gathered around each told a sad story about how mean the other bird was.

“Don't ever play with Tara; she is mean. She came along when I was just trying to play with her and she attacked me with her claws and her beak ,and she kept hitting me and bumping me right out of the air onto the ground. I will never forget how bad that felt.”

“Stay away from Archie,” Tara told the animals near her. “He doesn't know how to play nicely, and even though I told him I didn't want to play rough and tried to just ignore him and fly away, he wouldn't leave me alone. Look at my wing, he did this on purpose.
“I will never forget how bad that felt. I will make sure that never happens again.”

Archie told his animal friends, “don't be friends with Tara or you can't be my friend.”

and Tara told her followers, "If you play with Archie or any of his friends, I won't be your friend. He is my enemy.”

That whole island full of animals was divided into two sides for a while. But then they began to realize that some of the animals on the other side were friends and even family, and they did not want to give up their friendship because of a silly fight between Archie and Tara.
They began to realize that
they needed each other
and to
know that friends are important.

So some left both Archie and Tara and
formed a group of their own, which of course
would not play with either
Archi's friends or Tara's friends.

More groups split off and
each went their own way
until the once happy peaceful island
had become so divided into special groups
that would not be friends with anyone else,
the island was not the pleasant place it had been before that all happened.

Most of the animals spent their time watching the others to make sure they were not visiting another group, or watching over their shoulders to make sure another animals was not sneaking into their area.
There was no time for play and fun.
Everyone was too busy being mean and angry to
take care of themselves in a good way.
They did not want to
forget the hurt or the anger.

After many days of this Tara and Archie sat on their own tree branches each having thoughts about the uncomfortable feelings on the island. Tara could not even remember what she had done that started this terrible division. Archie, felt some bad feelings because he could remember Tara had said she didn't want to play rough,
"but she laughed and played with me anyway, so
I thought she really did like the game we were playing."

He finally began to
be aware that this was no excuse and his
behavior had been the cause of many
uncomfortable feelings among his friends.

Now he could
recognize the feelings of anger and hate.
He could
see the feelings of the other animals.

Even the ones who still stood by him,
were not pleasant to be around because they were so full of bad feelings.

Archie needed to
remember more pleasant times and

decided what to do to help others
remember those pleasant feelings they had
before the fight, back so long ago,
remember and feel those feelings of safety and comfort,
maybe they should all go back into their own eggs
and use those shells to
protect themselves from bad feelings.
But Archie thought there might be a better way.

He began to
know how Tara was feeling, and as he could
recognize this friend’s pain.

He walked toward her home.
on the way he saw Tara coming toward him.
He knew the look of fear and sadness was on her face,
so he spoke before he got too close,
"Tara, I'm so sorry that my rough play hurt you.
I did not want to hurt you or myself.
I just wanted to be your friend and play with you.
I still want to be your friend,
but I see everything is all messed up now.

Can we find away to
forget the angry feelings and
remember the pleasant feelings
we had before the fight. We can
find a good way to play together and
do no more harm to ourselves or others.

Tara said, "I see I caused damage when I let you think it was OK to play rough, I have to
learn to say what I mean and mean what I say.
I need to
know that I am more valuable and
require gentle treatment from others.

Can we find a way to help all the animals
be happy again and
be friends with everyone like we used to all be.

I don't think we should all
go back as far as going into our shells,
but we ca
n
see our shells as boundaries,
as special private places
around each of us,
a private space where
we can feel safe, and comfortable.

We can respect that private space
for ourselves and all others.
remember the happy times
we had playing among the trees and racing along the beach.
We can help the others to
get over their bad feelings by helping them
remember that pleasant feeling.

So from that day on, Tara and Archie had
helped each other, and many of the animals to
take the pleasant feelings with them into each day.

They learned that
letting go of the hurt feelings,
and letting go of the anger
that might come during a day was a
better way to
cope with challenges and fears
that might come up.

They learned that
taking the pleasant feelings with them
into their day
was a much a better way of
taking care of themselves and
protecting themselves.

And each knew the special meaning of
the safety of that egg,
the boundaries that protected
each from the other,
yet could be set aside with permission
for closeness and special touching times.