This is a short story I wrote for Jacob when he was very young.

Jacob and the Universe

          There was once a little boy named Jacob. He was like most other boys, he loved to run, play with his friends, play with his toys, and go fun places with his mom and dad. But he also had one very special gift. Jacob could talk with the universe.

          The universe is everything.  All the trees, flowers, and animals are part of the universe.  The rivers, lakes and oceans are part of the universe. The land and the sky, the sun and the moon, and even people are all part of the universe.    Because the universe is everywhere, Jacob could talk to the universe anytime he wanted, and all he had to do was listen and the universe would answer.

          One day Jacob was playing in the woods close to his house. He loved exploring the woods, and seeing all the animals and trees and bushes. This day he was looking for secret forts in the woods. But Jacob went too far from home, and he soon realized he did not know how to find his way back home. "I'm lost" said Jacob to the universe. "You're lost" answered the universe.   That was not what Jacob wanted to hear, so he said "I want to go home".  "You want to go home; then just look around you and you'll find your way" answered the universe.

          Jacob looked around a saw a bluebird singing a song. That looks like the bluebird that lives in my backyard Jacob thought. So he went to see the bluebird, but the bluebird flew off. Jacob saw where the bluebird flew, so he went to see the bluebird again. The bluebird flew away again as Jacob got close. This happened again and again, and Jacob kept following the bluebird. Just as Jacob was about to give up, he noticed that the bluebird had landed in his own backyard.  The bluebird had led him home! Jacob knew that the universe had shown him the way home, and he was glad he had listened to the universe.

          The next week Jacob was on a fun trip with his mom and dad. They took a drive, and since Jacob had been good all week, they took him to the store.  Jacob loved going to the store and playing with all the toys, and Jacob's dad would sometimes buy him a small toy. As Jacob was looking around the toys, he suddenly looked across the aisle and saw the most amazing fort he had ever seen.  "Look dad, a fort!" said Jacob.   "That's called a tent" Jacob's dad said.  "You use it to sleep outside and go camping".  "Jacob was amazed, if he had a "tent", then he could put up a fort anywhere.  "Can I get it" Jacob said, his dad replied "that's not a toy Jacob, it's for bigger people."

          Jacob was disappointed, but he knew that the tent cost a lot more than a toy, so he was not too upset.   That night Jacob dreamed of the tent, he saw him and his friends making forts and camping all over the woods. 

          For the next few days, Jacob couldn't think of anything but the tent, he wanted to get one so bad, but did not know how.  Finally, one day he told the universe "I want that tent so bad".  "You want it so bad" said the universe. "Yes" said Jacob.  "If you really, really want it, then you will get it."

          Jacob was SO excited.  He was going to get his tent!  The universe said he would.  The next day when Jacob woke up, he almost expected that the tent would be on the foot of his bed, but it was not. Then he remembered that the universe did not say WHEN he would get it, so he asked the universe "when will I get my tent?' "Whenever you show that you really want it" said the universe. "What do you mean?" asked Jacob, but the universe just answered "Whatever you give to the universe, it gives back to you"

          Now Jacob was really confused, so he went to see his dad. "Dad, how can I get that tent at the store?"  "How much money do you have in your piggy bank?" asked Dad. Jacob counted his money, and with the $10 that grandma gave him for his birthday two weeks ago, he had a total of $28.14.  Well, that tent cost $49, so you are about $20 short. Jacob's heart sank, since he got most of his savings from dads loose pocket change, $20 seemed more like a million dollars.  "Where can I get $20?"  Jacob mumbled to himself as he shuffled his feet and walked away.  His dad heard this and said "You know, I think Mr. Ed may need some help in his garden, you should go ask him if you could earn $20 by working for him. 

          Jacob had never gotten money for working from anyone else before, but he liked Mr. Ed and he ran right over and asked him about making money for his tent.  Jacob was back home in 5 minutes, and out of breath, but really excited!  "Mr. Ed said I can go help him in his garden tomorrow!"

          Jacob worked very hard in the garden for several days, but two weeks later Jacob had his tent, and he was so happy.  He also thanked the universe and said I understand what you meant when you said "I have to give something to the universe to get something back".  "By me helping Mr. Ed with his garden, I helped someone else, I gave to the universe, and the universe gave back to me".

The universe smiled and gave Jacob several warm, sunny days so he could camp, swim, play, and enjoy his new tent.

          Christmas arrived, and Jacob was so excited to see that he got a new bicycle.  But this was his first bike with two wheels, so he was a little afraid to ride it. When he went out and tried to ride, he fell right down. "I can't ride my bike!"  Jacob cried to the universe.  "You can't ride your bike?" the universe replied. Jacob calmed down and ask again. "I want to ride my bike" Jacob said.  "You can ride it" the universe replied.

          Jacob liked the sound of that, so he hopped back up on his bike, but he was still afraid, and so really didn't believe he could ride. He fell right back down. "You said I could ride" Jacob cried to the universe again. "But you didn't believe me" said the universe. "But I know you can ride."  Jacob tried again, and went a few feet, but fell back down.  "That time you believed me, but you did not believe in yourself, you must believe in yourself." said the universe.

          Jacob thought about that for a few minutes before he tried again.  He had believed the universe but he was still not sure of himself.  Jacob steadied himself, and tried again, and this time he rode for almost a minute before he fell.  He had rode the bike, but he felt he was so bad at it.  "I'm not good at this" said Jacob.  Always remember this said the universe "Anything you wish to do well, you must be willing to do poorly at first".  Jacob didn't understand what this meant, so he asked his dad.  "Dad, why do I fall so much while trying to ride my new bike".

          "Jacob, when you try to learn something new, you don't have any memory of how to do it. So you always start out poorly, but every time you practice you get better and better, until soon, you are really good at what you could not even do. Just like walking, when you were younger, you could not walk, but now you have had lots of practice, so you don't even have to think about it anymore.   The same thing will happen with your bicycle." 

          Jacob's dad continued. "We are all bad at everything in the beginning, so anytime you feel like you are bad at something, you should get excited, because it means you are learning to do something new."

          Now Jacob understood what the universe was telling him "Anything you wish to do well, you must be willing to do poorly at first". Jacob thanked the universe for helping him learn to ride his bike, but even more for helping him believe in himself.

          Jacob is a special boy, but every kid can learn to talk to the universe. If you want the universe to give you all the things you want in life, then you need to remember what Jacob learned.

• Ask the universe for what you want.
• Dream about what you want, and see you having it.
• Give good things to the universe so it gives good things back to you.
• Believe in the universe and in yourself.
• Expect the universe to answer, and feel great about it.
• Listen to the universe
• Enjoy the gifts that the universe brings to you.

          And then teach other boys and girls how they can talk to the universe and realize their dreams too.