Leo and the Thought Clouds

Leo slumped at his desk, a half-finished drawing spread before him. "This drawing is terrible," he thought, a dark cloud forming over his head. "I'm no good at art. Everyone else is so much better." His shoulders sagged.

His mom, noticing his quietness at dinner, gently asked, "Is everything okay, sweetie? You seem a little down." Leo just shrugged, pushing his food around. His dad looked concerned too.

A few days later, Leo found himself in a cozy office, filled with soft chairs and colorful books. A kind woman with warm eyes smiled at him. "Hi, Leo," she said softly. "I'm Dr. Aris. It's nice to meet you."

Dr. Aris explained, "Our thoughts are like little clouds floating in our minds. Some are sunny, some are rainy. But sometimes, those rainy clouds can make us feel gloomy, even when the sun is trying to shine."

"The first step," Dr. Aris continued, "is to notice those rainy clouds. What's a thought that makes you feel bad?" Leo thought for a moment. "That my drawing is terrible," he mumbled. "And that I'm not good at art."

"Great job noticing!" Dr. Aris praised. "Now, let's be thought detectives. Is that thought 100% true? Are there any exceptions? Have you *never* drawn anything good?" Leo paused. "Well, I did draw a really cool robot last month..."

"See?" Dr. Aris smiled. "That's challenging the thought! You're looking for evidence. Just because one drawing isn't perfect doesn't mean you're 'no good at art' forever." Leo felt a tiny bit of the dark cloud starting to fade.

"Now for the magic trick," Dr. Aris whispered. "We can reframe the thought. Instead of 'My drawing is terrible,' what's a more balanced, helpful thought?" Leo thought hard. "Maybe... 'This drawing is a challenge, and I can learn from it'?"

"Perfect!" Dr. Aris beamed. "That's a sunny thought! How does that make you feel?" Leo felt a lightness in his chest. "Better! Like I can try again." The dark cloud above him had completely vanished, replaced by a small, bright sun.

From then on, whenever a rainy thought cloud appeared, Leo remembered Dr. Aris. He'd stop, notice the thought, challenge it, and reframe it. He learned that he was the boss of his thoughts, and he could choose to let the sun shine!