This is more than just a children’s book, for me at least. I had a feeling all along that something had led me to this very point, and all my life experiences had helped complete a picture that enabled me to construct this project. The concept of a children’s book that was designed to instil positive thinking and generate self-esteem, seemed like a great idea, and one that seemed entirely obvious to me. I just didn’t realise at the time quite why it had seemed so close to home!
My own childhood was certainly not one full of positive messages. My own mother was not the maternal type, I am assured, and she disappeared from my life at a very early age and I never saw her again. My childhood was largely a difficult one and one that I would not wish for my own child.
Positive Affirmations within the book
So you see for me, this is more than just a children’s book. It has been developed as a tool to encourage children to think positive thoughts from a very early age. To help build self-esteem and ultimately help them to live a happy and fulfilling life. Whilst the messages seem quite simple on the surface – “I am Lovable” or “Every problem has an answer” or “I am Perfect just the way I am”– there is a deeper meaning in the encounters with animal characters on Bindee’s journey. These are designed to stay with the reader as they return to the book again and again, and begin to associate their name with these positive messages contained within the letters of their given name. The messages are in fact just as relevant to adults and therefore the parents reading the book. They are a combination of things that I have learnt and my own life experiences.
For example – the mouse enjoying “Quiet time” actually introduces the basic concept of meditation. The breathing, emptying the mind, placing value on the process of doing nothing. The words simply mention the little mouses tummy gently moving up and down as he rests. Underlying there is a message, and all of the pages, and all of the messages, are designed to convey something – and always in a positive way.
The hidden messages within the story
So the story of Bindee is one of escaping negative messages that were present in his early years as a little stork around Given Lake. Bindee has been bullied by the other storks and has been told he is not as good as they are. He chooses to believe the stories they have told him – that he can’t fly. This represents the limiting beliefs that we are in danger of collecting as children. That we are not good enough, or pretty enough, or strong enough, or clever enough – that we are not worthy of being loved or achieving great things. These can have a profound effect on us even though we do not realise it for our entire lives. Through meeting the other animals on his journey, he starts to collect new stories – positive beliefs. Finally, he will learn that he is really just as good as the others, and that he can really achieve amazing things – he can fly – actually he is a master of flying!
In the story, Bindee didn’t succeed in the past. Later in the pages of the book he tells the Wizard – “. . . that cannot be true – the first time I fell” – and he therefore believes he will not succeed in the future. This is about overcoming his limiting beliefs and taking the new positives messages to empower him to succeed as a stork (by flying) and also to fulfil his destiny, which is ultimately to deliver his newborn baby in our story.
In life we collect either negative or positives beliefs about ourselves all the time from those around us. Ultimately it does not matter which ones are more true. What matters is that we collect the positive messages, because they will be the ones that will empower us to achieve more and feel good about ourselves. Feeling good about ourselves is the route to finding a happy and fulfilling life.
“The belief that becomes truth for me . . . is that which allows me the best use of my strength, the best means of putting my virtues into action” – Andre Gide
By the power of our minds and our thoughts we control the lives we lead. We often find what we believe to be true. If we believe we are not good enough to succeed, then we will be proved right by failing over and over again. If we believe we are not lovable, then we will be proved right by constantly finding people who do not love us. If we choose to believe something completely different, then we will have totally different outcomes. Therefore our thought patterns really do control our lives. We can think happy and be happy.
Those who have read the book may spot a few hidden secrets behind the story. The Wizard, of course, is the creator of children – perhaps God or perhaps love, or whatever you choose to believe about creation. The Pelican Postman is also the Wizard, who has come to help Bindee conquer his doubts about himself. You can tell by his use of language, that they are in fact one and the same. “Chop chop” readers!
Bindee learns something very special about his given name too. He is an Asian painted stork (found in the plains of Thailand and South Asia) and the name “Bindee” actually means “fly well” in the Thai language.
So at the end of our story, and the end of your very personalised book, our hero Bindee spreads his wings and together with his precious cargo (your own child in the story), leaps from the top of Given Mountain to make his delivery and fulfil his own destiny.
To our little children – well the deeper meanings will not be understood until much later on. They will simply love the colourful pages and the story of the little stork meeting lots of happy animals. They will just love to see their own name in the pages of the book, and they will find it truly magical that someone has printed a book all about them!
