Life Lesson #1 – Things I learn from my kids

I started working with a meditation coach about 2 years ago. The main reason I decided to take on this practice was that I was desperate to become a better mother. I was overwhelmed ALL the time, I was frustrated and angry a lot, and I was depressed and anxious. Interestingly, I had no idea I was depressed and anxious – until I wasn’t! On this journey, one of the things I’ve come to realize is that my kids are mirrors to what I’m going through emotionally. If I’m off, they are off. That’s a huge pill to swallow and sometimes I still choke on it, but it’s also good to know – great to know! If they start acting off, then all I have to do is look at myself and consciously shift the energy. And of course it’s always good to acknowledge and celebrate that when they are ON, that means I’m ON! Whether on or off, I’m always learning important life lessons from my kids. Here’s one I’m celebrating that had a profound effect on me. I took my kids to the pool a couple of weeks ago and my 6 year old ran into one of her neighbor friends, I’ll call her Rose, who was at the pool with one of her friends. Rose and my daughter were excited to see one another, said hello, and off they all went, my daughter, Rose, and Rose’s friend. An hour later, my daughter was playing happily with someone else. On our way home from the pool, my daughter said, “Mom, when I was playing with Rose and her friend I didn’t feel good because Rose just wanted to play with her friend. So I went away to be by myself and said to myself ‘I want to meet someone else to play with me’. That’s when I met Violet”………and on and on she went about her new friend Violet. Her telling me this made me so proud of her, and of course my other two kids were begging for attention at the exact same time, so I didn’t have a chance to reinforce how amazing her choices were until later that night. But, really, I mean come on, how amazing is this coming from a 6 year old? She was able to identify and acknowledge that she didn’t feel good in a situation. She removed herself from the said situation and then asked for something different – a new friend to play with. Viola, the universe provides! Instead of her running over to me crying about how no one wants to play with her, instead of her being sad, feeling left out, or feeling sorry for herself, she chose something different! It’s so gratifying when your child is happy and they managed their emotions all on their own. I’m always try to teach her and remind her to CELEBRATE when other friends are having a play date or to be happy for other friends when they are spending time together. She showed me that this information is starting to resonate with her, and that is so cool to watch. So this is what I’m going to have some fun playing with everyday this week…… 1. Acknowledging my feelings when I’m in a situation that doesn’t feel good. 2. Remove myself from the situation as soon as possible. 3. Ask for something different. I’m so excited to see what comes up……..