Hey y’all!
I hope everyone is enjoying their week so far and looking forward to the 4th of July here in the states. I am looking forward to a 4th where my next-door neighbors are not about to light my house on fire with their fireworks at 11pm! I am assuming people are more conscious of lighting fireworks in Colorado due to the dry air and risk of wildfire but I’m sure there are always those few people who “have to” do it anyway.
I wanted to get into the new changes I was planning on making with The Honeymama Journal. I think a lot of my personal goals surrounding what I’m passionate about boil down to three main things: Parenting, Mindfulness and Nature. Moving forward, I’d like to offer my experiences with these three topics and relate them to each other. I’m hoping that by offering up my personal experiences, thoughts, and ideas, I can help readers think about and become more mindful in their day to day lives. I also want to focus on the importance of childhood and how our children are the ones who will shape the future and continue to pass along what they learned from us (and what they learned not to do) so that the following generations will continue to succeed a little bit more than the one before them.
“Just saying a few words that make another person suffer less can give our lives meaning. And it is something we can do anywhere. When your life is meaningful, happiness becomes reality…” - Thich Nhat Hanh in Be Free Where You Are.
When I started this page, I wanted to offer my experiences to readers in hopes that they would help someone, anyone move forward and live a more intentional life. Living with intention allows you to slow down and realize what is actually important in your life and what you may keep around as a convenience. It also allows you to stop and look at what is no longer serving you and your purpose. It’s okay to cut ties, change routines, fall down and get back up again. I also found I wanted to get myself to start writing my thoughts out and to force myself to become more vulnerable. What better place to spill your guts than the internet? I’m not sure I’ve really been succeeding in offering anything to anyone but I am determined to put more effort and structure into my writing.
Parenting is hands-down the most rewarding thing I have ever done or have been part of. It can be challenging at times, but the reward outweighs the challenges by a ton and then some. As parents know, we can have some high highs and some low lows. The highs of being so proud of our sweet babies and all they have accomplished in such a short little lifespan so far, to the lows of parental guilt, worry and exhaustion.
By including Mindfulness in parenting, we can allow ourselves to slow down and evaluate how we’re handling situations vs. how we would like to handle them. We can allow ourselves to slow down and look at the values we want our children to learn and carry with them into adulthood.There is always so much to be thinking about and doing as a parent. Usually our schedules are packed with a bunch of stuff we don’t even enjoy doing. Life is truly what we make it. In this physical body, we get one shot. So why not fill our lives with things we honestly enjoy doing? If you don’t want to sign your kid up for 30 sports, then don’t. Carefully and mindfully choose the activities your child holds the most interest in and do those.
By including Nature in parenting, we can allow the resources offered to us by the Earth to help heal, learn and grow as parents which in turn allows our children to grow up with a respect for nature and all it has to offer. There are so many benefits to nature I hope to touch on in the future. I remember being outside for the majority of my childhood. It doesn’t have to be some grand hike or camping vacation. Just allow your kids to be outside, soaking up the sunshine, and digging in the dirt. One of my favorite childhood memories was making “potions” with my sister at my grandparents house. We would find leaves and sticks to mix in with mud and water to create magical potions. Nothing extreme or expensive. Just some good old fashioned, slightly unsupervised backyard fun.
Like I said before, life is what you make it. If you stay inside, watch loads of TV (yes, my children watch TV), avoid the sun and outdoors (two things that are proven to boost mood among having other health benefits), then what kind of habits are you creating for your children to carry into adulthood? If you’re active, teaching your children the importance of being outside and allowing them to explore, those are the kind of adults you’re going to raise. Curious, life-long learners. Allow your children to be children as long as possible. There is no rush into adulthood.
Many of us think we don’t have the capacity to make changes. And trust me, I can be that way too. It’s hard to shake up your routine and try something new. But the reward outweighs the risk. Start small with the changes until you finally find a routine that brings you peace. It may be a lot of trial and error. You might have days that don’t go as planned. Happens to the best of ‘em. Get back on track and stay disciplined. You CAN do this.
Feel your own immense power!
-AD
P.S. If you’re looking for different ways to be mindful or more intentional, I suggest reading Laura Musselman’s What’s Good?. Full of experience and phenomenal lists to help remind you what brings you joy, laughter, positivity and creativity while being a parent.
Love what you are choosing to weave with your expression. I agree that nurturing our children (parents and non parents alike) is a primary ingredient for the attunement we are all seeking in our hearts. Many of us endured layers of suffering childhood, big and small. Mostly due to the imposed disconnection from Nature and our primal blueprint of Wholeness. Presence, Kids and the Earth!!! Its what we should all be talking about :-) Looking forward to reading your reflections!