Honoring the children as we wake
Honoring the children as we wake
6 May 2024 Daily Meditation
Remember the story of Hansel and Gretel?
For a moment, let’s just leave the part of the witch and the woodsman out and imagine the forest and being a couple of little kids and trying to find your way through…
That’s what it’s like living in our world today. Imagine being a couple little kids in our world, taking in all the input WE get, being a little kid. Now imagine parents who are shouldering all the input of (I can only speak for the USA I live, and it’s probably worse in other parts of the non-privileged world) we take in managing the pre-election crazy world, the economy and inflation, the immigration debate, the reproductive rights debate, on top of parenting, education, what activities we want our kids to be in so they can compete in their world, and on and on and on…
Now imagine you are that kid being faced with being bullied or left out or struggling with anxiety or no friends and trying to find a way to approach your mom or dad who are glued to their phone or computer because they have brought work home because it can’t all be done in 10 hourse, and WHAT’S A KID TO DO ANYWAY?
NOW LET’S PAUSE. Take a breath. B-R-E-A-T-H-E……
Ahhhhh. Let’s start over. This is morning. Let’s go back to the woods again. Be that little kid. Stand at the edge of the woods and take a breath. Smell the green, piney smell of the woods. Look in at the dark, damp woods and feel the mist..
Take another breath. Count to five. Exhale. Look at all the different colors of green. Maybe a little yellow, brown, beige, blue, pink…what do you see? A bug, a bird, a bee?
What do you hear? Birdsong, buzzing, chirping crickets, woodpeckers pecking? Maybe an owl hooting deeper in the forest? Something scurrying by where you can almost see it? Breathe again, slowly, let your body feel the rhythm of the forest. Can you feel it breathing? Feel the grasses and branches sway with the breeze.
You are the kid whose parents have introduced you to nature. You are the kid who knows the peace of the earth, who has played in the dirt and with the bugs. You are not afraid of the forest. Breathe it in.
Stop, look and listen. Nature is all around you, even in the middle of the city. Even right out the window of your office.
Today before you start your day, honor your child self, then turn and honor the children you know. If they live in your house, honor them as you greet them for the first time in your day. Find a way to let them know you SEE them. See what happens if you greet them in a different way.
If you have no children of your own, see if you can honor the children you meet. Greet them with a smile or a wave or a wink. Our children need to be seen and heard and acknowledged.
Let me know what happens!