HAPPINESS: WHEN YOUR HEART SINGS
Cecelia shares a breathing exercise for appreciating happy feelings and letting your heart sing.
Happiness is a feeling that gives you an inner glow. It’s caused by the moments and activities that bring you joy and love—things like hanging out with your parents or friends or seeing the sunshine in the morning. Cecelia shares a breathing activity for when you’re feeling happy, and a lesson she learned from her Abuela: gratitude is a secret ingredient to happiness.
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EPISODE TRANSCRIPT
Tiempo Tranquilo
Podcast Script, Episode 4Happiness: When your heart sings
Cecelia: Testing, testing One…two…three…OK, sounds good, amigos!
<>
From K-E-R-A Kids in Dallas, Texas, this is Tiempo Tranquilo a podcast where we talk about the big
feelings inside of us and share a new idea for managing our emotions. I’m Cecelia, the host of this
show.Today, we’ll be talking about happiness.
Happiness gives you an inner glow feeling — the moments and activities that bring you joy and love
in life.I wonder what you think of when you think of happiness….
It should be something that makes your heart sing. Like hanging out with your parents or friends or
seeing the sun shine in the morning. Maybe it’s seeing your favorite show on TV or taking a trip to
a new place. You know what makes my heart sing?FOOD! I love my abuela’s mole. It’s a sauce that’s made out of chocolate, chiles, spices and
tomatillos. My abuela always adds mole on top of chicken and serves it with a side of arroz and
frijoles.Mmm, mmm, I can smell it already! Can you smell it, too?
And, you know, mi abuela told me that for her – happiness is grounded in something
called gratitude.Gratitude is a state of appreciation for acts of kindness and the people and experiences that bring
us joy. Gratitude makes us more open, connected and present to the world around us.Let me tell you something that made me feel grateful this week. I went to a food truck con mis
hermanos for the first time. So exciting!Have you ever seen a food truck? It’s a big truck with a kitchen inside where chefs cook up
delicious food and serve it to you through the window!! Que emoción! It got me thinking. What if I
owned a food truck?<>
Let’s imagine:
It’s a beautiful day, the sun is shining and I’m cooking on a pink food truck.
I’m using the skills my abuela taught me to cook tacos with tortillas, meat, pico de gallo, queso,
tomatoes and lettuce. All made con cuidado.Then these awesome customers come up to the food truck and ask for two tacos de barbacoa. They eat
them and say they love them.Customer 1: Wow!
Customer 2: Mm, yummy!
Cecelia: Wow, I love how happy my food makes someone feel – and how I get to cook food that I love.
I feel happiest cooking up joy for people. And I’m feeling really grateful.Wait!
Let’s stop for a second!
Just thinking about food makes my heart and body sing!
Let’s do an exercise that helps us take in all the feelings of gratitude – and how we can eat
mindfully.It’s always good to appreciate and feel grateful for the food we have, the people who made the food
and all the goodness in our lives. Because sometimes it’s easy to forget all that we’re grateful
for.OK, let’s start.
Let’s think of a food that makes your heart sing and makes you smile every time you have it. It
could be something warm — like tacos. Or cold — like ice cream. Or even juicy like a mango.Imagine that food is right in front of you..the different colors of the food and how the food
feels.Is it smooth? Is it rough? Does it smell sweet or sour?
Now, let’s breathe in that delicious food for the count of three.
One…two…three…
And breathe out to the count of five with great gratitude.
One…two…three…four…five… Really allow yourself to enjoy it.
Let’s do that again:Breathe in that delicious food for the count of three.
One…two…three…
And breathe out to the count of five with great gratitude.
One…two…three…four…five…
Think about how you feel when you breathe in the smell and breathe out gratitude. Now, think of the
journey of the food. The people who made the food, the people who brought it to you and how the
food makes you happy and stronger.Feel a sense of appreciation for the food.
And beyond the plate, think of the people who may be sitting next to you. And how you’re grateful
they are there to share this meal with you. Feels good, right?I’m thinking of my abuela’s mole. How it’s a reddish brown color and how grateful I am for my
abuela. Cooking is one of the many ways she shows her love for us. And we all really love her, too.I think my abuela is right … gratitude really is the secret ingredient to completely enjoying your
food! She always says, “comer con gusto.” Eat with pleasure. Next time you eat a meal, be present.
You can pause and notice all the things you are grateful for.You’ll notice how appreciating your food makes you more aware and makes your food taste even
better.Thanks for joining me today! I’ve had lots of fun sharing my experiences with delicious foods. Like
my abuela’s cooking!Remember the moments or experiences that you’re grateful for and how happy they make you feel. And
maybe, next time you’re eating with friends or family, you can share what you learned today with
them.Ok amigos, talk to you next time! Nos vemos pronto!
<>
CREDITS:
<>Tiempo Tranquilo is a production of KERA in Dallas, TX. It’s hosted by me, Cecelia Adame. Micaela
Rodriguez and KERA’s director of Education Lisa Bracken developed, produced, and edited this show.
Sylvia Komatsu is the Chief Content Officer and Nico Leone is our CEO. Veronica Valles is a peace
educator and our mindfulness advisor.
The rest of our team includes: Shardae White, Allan Wang, Shenique Rasheed and Erica Campos.
Special thanks to our Parent Advisory Council, Community Voices for their feedback. Tiempo
Tranquilo is produced with support from PRX and is made possible (in part) by a Ready To Learn
grant from the U.S. Department of Education.
END OF EPISODE
