Hi Everyone and welcome back to my Blog! I realise that I’ve been A.W.O.L since late last year and I apologise. I also just discovered that I left my Christmas 2019 Blog unpublished! I was so focused on setting things up for this year that it just slipped my mind.
My Christmas Blog began with “Wow, I seemed to have blinked and the year is over!” Well, it seems that the first 3 months of this year are over too. It continues to amaze me, the speed at which the years are flying by. Is it the same for you? It got me thinking……did we really need a pandemic to make us stop and reassess and reconnect? Maybe so.
As my children are all adults themselves now, I can only think back and try to imagine what all of you are going through right now with kids home from school, partners home from, or even worse, out of work. I just never thought that we would experience such hard times in our lifetime. Pretty naive I guess, or just hopeful. Here we are though, in the midst of a world wide emergency. What’s the message or lesson here for us all? I wouldn’t mind betting that for each person it’s a variation of a common theme. I don’t know what this means for you, but it has made me think about what I have in my life, what’s really important and what isn’t so much.
Lately, especially at end of last year I’ve seen tired kids and tired parents. I see parents working so very hard to give their kids a great life. I see the kids doings heaps of activities/ hobbies/ sports. As a society we are living full-on lives. It was making my head spin just observing what families are dealing with, but I realised during the past 12 months or so, that’s just how life is now. I must rephrase that now; that’s just how life was before the Corona Virus hit. Families are doing a great job of managing life. I’m actually in awe of how “hectic” is being managed. Hats off to all of you lovely parents! :)
Let’s add to life’s usual level of busyness, the extra stress of the consequences of the outbreak of Corona Virus. So, during all this ‘hectic’ have you managed to set aside perhaps 5 minutes a day to just be still and switch off?
Since about October of last year, I have been working on ‘down time’ or ‘me time’. I must admit that becoming more consistent in my meditation has made an enormous difference to my life (my soul, if you will). Starting the day with a bit less clutter in my mind and a more open heart has been like a tonic for me. It has actually created a space around me. I don’t quite know how else to describe it. It’s fantastic and I wish that I was onto this when I was raising my kids, but honestly, I probably would have started hyperventilating just thinking about trying to fit THAT in! I get how hard it is to set aside time for yourself as a parent, let alone a working parent.
So now that school is out for an unknown period of time, I’m hearing parents say that it’s difficult juggling all of this. Online school lessons, parents working from home, stress and feeling like caged animals. Add to this, the fear and uncertainty around the pandemic. What sort of things can you parents do with your kids that will help you to slow down and be calmer?
In the Peaceful Kids program that I facilitate, we talk about “Flow” time. You know, that time when you’re so into an activity that your mind doesn’t wander off to the past or future and therefore, not worrying? When you are lost in time and fully present with the activity. “Flow time is what nourishes us and keeps us healthy and prevents us from feeling stressed.” Who doesn’t want more of that?
Here’s what some kids in my Peaceful Kids groups have recognised as their Flow time……. drawing or painting, playing footy with Dad, swimming, sailing, reading. Simple things with a big impact.
What’s important to remember, especially in this time-poor world is that these activities don’t have to last all day, but wouldn’t it be great to set aside an hour here and there in these holidays?
So, get your thinking caps on……what are your flow activities? What are your kids flow activities? Do any of them cross over, so you could do them together? Can you do any of them barefooted? Check out last years Christmas Blog and this Youtube Documentary (The Earthing Movie) about how important grounding is. Whenever possible, rip off those socks and shoes!
I’m not sure who is aware of this but, I don’t love certain aspects of technology. As all this social distancing has been employed, my Peaceful Kids groups have stopped and someone asked if I would continue the classes via Zoom. My first reaction was “oooh no, I can’t do that”. As I sat with that suggestion for a day or so, I came to the decision to not continue my groups online until I confer with it’s creator, BUT to create a Zoom group for the kids and I to stay connected and to also give the kids an opportunity to talk about how they’re feeling right now. I imagine they’re feeling just as unsure as us adults. Let’s be frank here. These are worrying times and none of us knows how to feel about it, let alone deal with it. We are being bombarded with information, most of it frightening and negative. Our amygdalas are probably screaming right now, DANGER, DANGER! If you’re feeling stressed, anxious, frightened, I just want to say that it’s perfectly normal. As we are all aware, the world as we know it has changed, perhaps permanently.
I’m not going to give you any advice regarding the Corona virus, there’s plenty of that around.
What I do want to say is PLEASE be kind to yourself and others, remember the power of your love and be your child’s rock. They need you to be solid right now more than ever. Not being able to see friends, Grandparents, Aunts, Uncles and cousins is really tough for all of us. Let’s make it easier by defaulting to LOVE. Thank goodness we do have technology to give us ideas of how to keep everyone occupied in a positive way, and in touch with the people we miss.
One other activity I practice with the kids in my groups is “3 Great Things”. Every day finding 3 things that are good in our lives or to be grateful for. I’m currently working on finding as many things as possible to be grateful for. Things are harder for pretty much all of us, but there are still some good things happening. Focusing on those is certainly helping me to push down the negative aspects of this situation.
In my heart I truly believe that this is just what the world needed right now. I’m not talking about illness and death. I’m talking about stopping the crazy rushing around, being still, being together and having the opportunity to reconnect, not just with those around us but with ourselves also.
I see the fact that I failed to publish my Christmas Blog as a huge sign that I needed to slow down a bit and be more considerate of my time and how to use it.
This is an amazing opportunity to learn how to build resilience. We are amazing and we can do this!
In closing….. I am here and I care. Call me anytime for a chat 0412 599 470.
From my heart to yours, much love.
Stay well and care for each other.
Thanks for joining me in this Blog. Until next time……….
I love helping families feel happier! If you would like to chat about how I can help you, follow this link to my “Contact Me” page.
This piece is written with the intention of helping parents create happier and more resilient children and is subject to copyright. Please contact the author if you wish to publish elsewhere.