Sometimes the world can tire and age us faster than we’d like.
Parenting has the potential to deplete us of all energy and form, leaving us feeling fatigued, confused, frustrated and overwhelmed.
There are days when parenting can deplete us so profoundly that it becomes exceedingly difficult to see past our immediate day to day needs.
During times like this, it is possible to instantly shift perspective by looking at the world through your child’s eyes. By doing this you can allow yourself a refreshing new glimpse of the world, you can create those heart to heart moments that nurture empathy and acceptance, bringing a little zest into your step and a bit of zing into your heart.
20 Mindfulness Practices….To see the world through your child’s eyes…
1. Smile fully and deeply with your whole-heart.
2. Play on the floor without any distractions (TV, phone, radio).
3. Listen curiously to your child’s laughter, then join in.
4. Try communicating your needs with limited words.
5. Get in the sandpit, make a sandcastle or a chocolate cake.
6. Run in the rain, nude if you’re game
7. Ask for help if YOU need it.
8. Turn off the phone and fully engage and pay attention to whatever you are doing.
9. Peel the potatoes slowly, like you have never seen them before.
10. Notice the texture of the food you eat, soft, hard, chewy, crunchy…
11. Get excited when the bin truck comes.
12. Take your shoes off and feel the grass under your feet.
13. When washing your hands, notice the temperature of the water, the feel of the water on your hands.
14. Organise an Adult Only morning tea. Notice what it feels like to play with your friends.
15. Have a friend tell you “No” repeatedly for a few times over and over during the course of a day.
16. Have your partner or close friend try and feed you when you are full and you only have your body language to let them know you can’t take another mouthful. Recognise your reaction or how you feel at this time.
17. Get down at your child’s level or height and look up at how big things seem.
18. Get fully engaged in your favourite TV series and then have someone come in and say 5 minutes to go and then it’s bath time. Notice how you respond.
19. Have a bath with toys and bubbles. Go on, I dare you…
20. Notice the smallest of things: a piece of fluff on the carpet, a spot on the wall, the wind of the spinning fan, and the ants on the ground.
Children are the most divine lovers of the present moment and remind us so graciously and sometimes not so graciously to stop, notice and enjoy! May this little list of 20 mindfulness practices bring you more calmness and connection, as you take time to pause, breathe and surrender to the cause and effect nature of your day. Recognize these ordinary moments with your child as a gift.
Happy, whole-hearted parenting.
Linking up with Essentially Jess.
**Kerry is the author of the book The Little Book of Harmony, Harmony Cards for Kids and creator of the Kids in Harmony. Follow her here. **
{photo credit: Lotus Carroll via photopin}