The analogy of growing a garden in relation to parenting.
So I'm in the midst co-facilitating a 6-week mindful parenting group which I'm pretty excited about - 4 years ago when I was working on my Masters, doing a mindful parenting group was on the list of things to do. Fast forward to now, and here I am, with my mindful parenting group, talking all about mindfulness and in my total glory. While I'd love to give all the slides and talk to you about what it is we're saying, I'll give my favourite take away from all of it, and that's taking notice not only of the garden you are growing for your children, but to also take notice of your garden.
I think gardening is such a great analogy for what we are experiencing because are we even tending to our own garden? Does our garden need more sunshine and water and maybe a few less weeds? Meaning, are we taking care of ourselves? Are we needing a break or timeout or maybe put some energy to healing something of the past? Is there something that we need to accept or let go of? Are we giving ourselves enough time to reap what we sow?
Same goes for our littles. What are we doing to nourish the garden so they can grow and reach their full potential? I did this great science experiment in grade 7, where I played different types of music to seeds to see if music influenced the growth of the seeds. (The seed that listened to classical grew the most and the seed that listened to heavy metal grew the smallest). So the point here, are we giving our kids the best environment to grow? Are we validating their needs and emotions? Are we giving them the space to play?
The moral of the story? Take care of yourself, notice when you need a break, notice what pushes your buttons and breathe. Parenting is no easy task and we're all just trying to figure it out while staying sane.
~ e
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