The Daily Sip:  When The Going Gets Tough,

The Tough Get Mindful

 

There's a saying (sort of) -- "When the going gets tough, the tough get mindful."  You may have noticed that when something you find important becomes urgent, you muster the strength and energy to see it through.

 

As a parent, nothing is more important than your child.  And nothing is more urgent than a circumstance that threatens your connection to your child, be it a health issue or an interpersonal conflict.

 

But when the going gets tough as it relates to our child, we really become mindful.  It is a special form of mindfulness that initially zeros in on a limited field -- dealing with a disease, or an accident, or specific turmoil and working to resolve it.  We become single minded.  That focus is geared toward survival.

 

But if the threat persists, the scope of mindfulness begins to broaden as our awareness opens beyond the immediate.  We begin to realize just how important the little things are -- just how unimportant so many other things are.  These are the "wake-up-calls" many of us will experience at some point in our lives.  For many, there is not much time in this world that follows the wake-up-call.

 

Today, imagine that you have received a wake-up-call.  Take a few minutes to enact in your mind the scenario.   Breathe deeply as you experience this and observe how you feel.  Visualize or sense your child's presence.  How does it change your moment to moment needs, tolerance, and desires?  Does it open your heart? This is a tool to open the doorway of mindful parenting.

 

The Mindful Parent is an organization devoted to sharing with parents and other child caregivers ways in which to enhance the many joys of parenting.  By mindfully attending to our children, both when we are physically present with them and when we are physically separated from them, we can enhance our sense of connection to them and, in turn, our connection to the cosmos.  This makes us a better parent, a happier person, and a more vital human being.

 

To facilitate a more mindful approach to parenting, The Mindful Parent publishes on its website, and in its bi-weekly newsletter, mindful parenting verses and commentaries.  The Mindful Parent website also serves as a community forum that encourages and supports a mindful parenting dialogue and the sharing of mindful parenting experiences.

 

In the spirit of developing a mindful parenting community, we encourage you to submit a mindful parenting experience through verse, commentary, and imagery to share with others.  We believe that through our collective experience, we can help each other develop a deeper and more meaningful mindful parenting practice. Click here to learn more about making a submssion.  We thank everyone who has contributed or is considering making this very compassionate contribution.

Click here to learn what recent events are taking place and of changes to The Mindful Parent website.  Please contact us with your questions about mindful parenting or to share a mindful parenting experience.  We are devoted to working with you to enhance your ability to "be" with your children, and to experience the bliss that awaits you.