LEAF STREAM
Set a busy thought on a leaf. Watch the water carry it somewhere else.
Nothing you type is saved or sent anywhere. It only exists on the leaf.
How to Play
- Type whatever is on your mind into the box — a worry, a to-do, a feeling, a single word.
- Press Place on a leaf (or Enter). Your words appear on a leaf upstream.
- Watch the leaf drift across and out of view. You don't need to do anything else.
- Add as many leaves as you like, or none at all. Blank leaves float by on their own.
If your thoughts feel heavy or unsafe, please talk to someone. In the US you can call or text 988 any time; elsewhere, your local emergency number or a crisis line can help. Our resources page lists services by country.
About Leaf Stream
Leaf Stream is a small, quiet place to practise letting thoughts pass. It's based on a well-known mindfulness exercise, often called "leaves on a stream," that is used in Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT). In the original version, you close your eyes, picture a gentle stream, and place each thought that comes up on a leaf, then simply watch it float away — without arguing with the thought, solving it, or pushing it down.
The idea isn't to make thoughts disappear. It's to notice that a thought is something you have, not something you are. Putting a worry into words, setting it on a leaf, and watching it drift off gives your mind a little distance from it. Sometimes that distance is all you need to breathe a bit easier.
Ways to use it
- Brain-dump before bed. Type the things still rattling around — the email, the appointment, the awkward comment — and let each one float off.
- Name the feeling. Single words work beautifully: "tired," "nervous," "restless." Naming a feeling is often the first step to softening it.
- Just watch. You don't have to type anything. The water, the reeds, and the drifting blank leaves make a calm screen to rest your eyes on for a minute.
Your privacy
What you type is drawn onto the leaf and nowhere else. It isn't stored in your browser, isn't sent to a server, and is gone the moment the leaf leaves the screen. The only thing Leaf Stream remembers is a count of how many leaves you've let go.
Leaf Stream is a relaxation tool, not a substitute for professional care. If you enjoy it, the slow, guided rhythm of Lantern Breath pairs nicely with it, and Mood Forest offers a gentle way to check in with how you feel.