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Guest Author Susan Kramer
Anneke and Hans are 9 year old twins living in a little village nestled against dunes by the North Sea in
Holland. They enjoy getting out and learning from the tales 'life' has to teach.
When today's adventure begins, we see Anneke and Hans skipping down the sidewalk of square foot
concrete paving blocks so prevalent in their village and Holland.
Oh no! Just ahead their friend Max has tumbled from his bike! Our
children run up to Max, who, a year younger than the twins, has broken
down in tears being scared he may be hurt, and embarrassed about
falling!
"Max, it's okay, it's okay!" exclaim the twins in turn.
"Here, see if you can sit up," Hans says as he helps his friend sit
while Anneke tilts up his bike, leaning it against the nearby lamppost.
"Take a few deep breaths," Hans says to Max. "You'll feel better."
Hans had already discovered being a year older than Max that taking a few deep breaths when upset,
made him feel better again.
After sitting with Max a few minutes, then standing everyone breathing easier the twins, with Max
walking his bike, make their way down the sidewalk along Prins Frederik Canal toward Max's house.
Max's mother sees the 3 youngsters coming up the sidewalk and right away notices her son's tearstained
face. She is very thankful to Anneke and Hans for walking Max home, and invites them in for koekjes
(cookies). This gives all 3 friends a chance to tell their story about what happened.
Heading home a while later the twins talk about how good they felt coming upon Max just after his
accident, and being able to help out. And, they realize their kindness had the unexpected reward of
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receiving a grateful look from Max's mother, and the extra treat of her homemade cookies!
Two lessons in this story
1. 'Kindness reaps kindness';
2. The instant meditation technique of taking a few deep breaths, when stressed, helps to feel relaxed
again.
Story and photo of mallards swimming in canal, North Holland Susan Kramer
Note: The characters in this story are fictional.
This is another chapter in the adventures of Anneke and Hans, 9 year old twins, living in a small village in
Holland near the North Sea.
To begin, it is a Saturday morning and the twins are climbing onto their bikes, to start heading out along
the 2 mile herringbone patterned brick bike trail rolling through the dunes leading to the North Sea on the
western coast of Holland.
Along the path to their right and left they pass woodlands of oak and open
grasslands, interspersed with lower pond areas surrounded by grasses, reeds and
cattails. Many birds and ducks make these dune parklands their home year round
or temporarily while migrating.
Anneke spots a new family of colorful male mallards with their tan and brown
mates, and Hans spies a group of coots with the white foreheads and black bodies
of both sexes. Then the twins see a cormorant flying across in front of them about
20 feet high over the meadow, carrying a long thin branch back to his nest site in
the middle of a large pond.
Hans and Anneke do not pause long on the ride today, as they are anxious to reach
the open stretch of yellow sandy beach rising gently from the sea in their quest to collect small shells for
craft projects.
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Nearing their destination they race each other for the final stretch down the slope of the last tall grassy
dune, coming to a quick halt as the brick trail breaks off abruptly into soft sand.
Their eyes momentarily adjust to the far horizon of sea, barely discernible from the grayblue sky above.
Eighty miles directly to their west is England. And, looking in a north westerly direction, hundreds of
miles away just south of the arctic circle is Iceland, the direction from which many winter storms assault
Holland after first whipping their winds against the shores of northern and eastern Scotland.
Out of breath, Hans and Anneke lock up their bikes on convenient rail fences at the end of the bike path,
and go sit for a few minutes at the foot of a dune facing the sea.
Since they are quiet and still, a seagull comes quite near them at the water's edge. Two foot waves wash in
and flow back by gravity and still their seagull friend, 'Sammy Seagull' as they call him, stands rooted on
the wash of beach.
The twins take this time to sit up straight pretending to be seagulls, and as the waves wash in and out in a
regular pattern, their breath quite naturally takes up a regular even pattern of its own.
After a minute, Anneke and Hans feel rested and run down to water's edge in pursuit of their new seagull
friend, but only fast enough to catch a glimpse of his white belly as he swoops out over the edge of sea.
They turn their attention back to collecting the shells they had come for, gathering several handfuls they
consider special. Walking back to their bikes, shells stored in backpacks, brother and sister wend their way
home.
But, the events of the day with Sammy Seagull at the sea were not forgotten. To this day, when they need a
break, the twins spend a few minutes sitting still while breathing in and out in an even pattern, like the
waves that repeatedly wash in, and flow back out to the sea.
In this story we follow the adventures of the 9 year old Dutch twins, Anneke and Hans, who live near the
North Sea, as they walk toward Dorpstraat the main street in their village.
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From their narrow 3story red brick home with its steeply sloping roof, it is a good 20 minute walk to the
market street.
Shopping is not just a once a week event in Holland the
Dutch make going to market almost a daily routine, stopping
at the bread bakery, village butcher, cheese shop, green grocer
and other specialty stores crowded together on the oneblock
long main shopping street most family run for generations.
Having finished breakfast of openfaced sandwiches of peanut butter sprinkled with chocolate flecks,
Anneke and Hans don their backpacks. Mother has asked them to shop for whole grain bread which will
not be many hours old and a wedge of aged Gouda cheese, made in the town of the same name in South
Holland, between Utrecht and Rotterdam.
Walking on the sidewalk along the canal, with geese wobbling on the grassy bank and mallards seeming
to try to keep pace, Hans and Anneke let their arms swing back and forth while taking even rhythmic
steps. They sing the A, B, C song, taking one step per letter: A, B, C, D, E, F, G step, step, step, step,
step, step, step all the way through the song.
Their singing brings a smile to those they pass perhaps the joy in the twin's voices is contagious.
Next they begin chanting:
"Walking along, stepping in time,
Walking along, and feeling fine.
Right foot steps out,
When left arm swings front.
And left foot steps out,
When right arm swings front.
Walking along, stepping in time,
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Walking along, and feeling fine."
At their brisk pace, while singing their tunes, they arrived at Dorpstraat more refreshed than when they
left home!
Dashing into the 2 shops, buying their items and storing them in their backpacks, Anneke and Hans trace
a merry path home, again singing and stepping in time.
Another day, when Anneke was feeling restless, she remembered the energizing walk she and Hans had
taken to the shopping street. She went outdoors and copied just what they had done before walking
briskly, arms swinging back and forth while singing, and when she came home from this 'walking
meditation' she again felt relaxed and refreshed!
This is a chapter in the story of Anneke and Hans, 9 year old twins, living in a small village crisscrossed
with little wooded parks, and canals leading out to the North Sea in Holland.
To begin, one afternoon after an especially busy day at school, the twins decided to take their time
walking home by winding their way through a nearby park of large poplar trees, yew and blackberry
brambles along a shallow canal.
After leaving the protection of the tall red brick houses with steeply sloping roofs
on the street beyond school, they entered a small woodland. Hans and Anneke
noticed the wind blowing stronger than they had thought, so they stopped
alongside the path to put on their jackets.
Overhead they heard birds singing, and noticed the top branches of hundred foot
poplars swaying back and forth. It seemed the birds, feathers fluffed from the
wind, were huddled and tightly clutching branches to keep from losing their
balance.
As kids like to play and imitate nature, Anneke had the idea that they could be like the wind in the high
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tree tops, by swinging their arms over their heads right side to left side, back and forth. So, for a few
minutes of dancing the twins started imitating the whooshing sound of the wind by breathing in and out
while bending to the right, and breathing in and out while bending to the left.
Resting a moment, the thought came to Hans which he shared with his sister that their 'wind dance' had
dissolved their stress from school, and they agreed they were feeling much better!
It was then that they spied a particular jay high up on a branch that they named 'Jasper Jay'. He was
sounding a rhythmic call of 'ee ee eek' over and over quite intent on his mission.
Anneke and Hans noticed other birds singing their rhythmic songs and tried to imitate, but it was hard to
hear the sounds, exactly. They told each other they'd have to spend more time paying attention to the birds
singing if they really wanted to learn their calls.
After a short time, they left the little woodland behind as they took the path leading home. But, they kept
up the memory of their lesson from that day, by remembering that dancing while breathing in and out
evenly dissolved their stress, and left them full of fresh energy!
And, in new adventures ahead, Anneke and Hans will be learning more about nature, and some easy
meditations.
Anneke and Hans Learn a Relaxation Meditation
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Guest Author Susan Kramer
In this story we follow the adventures of 9 year old Dutch twins Anneke and Hans who live near the North
Sea, as they explore a nearby meadow and learn a new way to meditate from 'mother nature'.
To begin, after school in early spring on an especially warm afternoon the twins decided to walk through
the nearby park to a meadow next to a small goat farm. Classes had really been strenuous, and Anneke
and Hans agreed they needed some time to relax before heading home.
Emerging from the park they saw
that the meadow was becoming a
colorful bed of wild purple orchids
and yellow ratelaars, and they could
not resist getting a closer look at the
new blossoms.
Walking awhile along a narrow
animalmade path of trampled down
grasses, the twins became hot and
tired, and decided to lie down. They
stretched out, looking up at puffs of
white clouds like cotton balls bunched together drifting by on the background of blue sky.
Anneke remarked that while stretched out there so still on her back, watching the passing clouds and
listening to the chirping of birds in distant trees, she was beginning to feel relaxed and even refreshed. It
seemed like the problems from school were becoming a distant memory.
Hans agreed, and the twins lay still in the meadow pasture for a good 10 minutes before getting up and
following the pathway through the park toward home.
The next week when Hans was in his bedroom studying and needing to take a break, he remembered how
relaxing lying in the meadow grass had been.
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So, he stretched out on his bed on his back, closed his eyes, and went back to the meadow in his thoughts.
He remembered how the warm sun relaxed his body and the chirping of the distant birds took his mind off
his problems pretty soon, he was feeling peaceful and rested.
Since that time of practicing the 'relaxation meditation' on his bed, Hans has often taken time to enjoy
these brief meditations resting and thinking about the meadowland flowers and birds when tired or
stressed!
Story by Susan Kramer
Photo credit Stan Schaap; purple orchid and yellow ratelaar in a meadow near the North Sea, The
Netherlands
Note: The characters in this story are fictional.
Anneke and Hans - Instant Meditation and Kindness
Guest Author Susan Kramer
Anneke and Hans are 9 year old twins living in a little village nestled against dunes by the North Sea in
Holland. They enjoy getting out and learning from the tales 'life' has to teach.
When today's adventure begins, we see Anneke and Hans skipping down the sidewalk of square foot
concrete paving blocks so prevalent in their village and Holland.
Oh no! Just ahead their friend Max has tumbled from his bike! Our
children run up to Max, who, a year younger than the twins, has broken
down in tears being scared he may be hurt, and embarrassed about
falling!
"Max, it's okay, it's okay!" exclaim the twins in turn.
"Here, see if you can sit up," Hans says as he helps his friend sit
while Anneke tilts up his bike, leaning it against the nearby lamppost.
"Take a few deep breaths," Hans says to Max. "You'll feel better."
IndianZombie | www.indianzombie.blogspot.com 8
Hans had already discovered being a year older than Max that taking a few deep breaths when upset,
made him feel better again.
After sitting with Max a few minutes, then standing everyone breathing easier the twins, with Max
walking his bike, make their way down the sidewalk along Prins Frederik Canal toward Max's house.
Max's mother sees the 3 youngsters coming up the sidewalk and right away notices her son's tearstained
face. She is very thankful to Anneke and Hans for walking Max home, and invites them in for koekjes
(cookies). This gives all 3 friends a chance to tell their story about what happened.
Heading home a while later the twins talk about how good they felt coming upon Max just after his
accident, and being able to help out. And, they realize their kindness had the unexpected reward of
receiving a grateful look from Max's mother, and the extra treat of her homemade cookies!
Two lessons in this story
1. 'Kindness reaps kindness';
2. The instant meditation technique of taking a few deep breaths, when stressed, helps to feel relaxed
again.
IndianZombie | www.indianzombie.blogspot.com 9