MINDFULNESS MONDAY
This week we are doing an activity that helps us to give the best gift possible to our kids. “Carried happiness” is a genuine happiness that is carried with you in every aspect of life. There will be times when you aren’t happy and you are having another emotion, but despite that conflicting emotion you know that the world is safe and you feel good about yourself and know that you are worthy of being loved and cared for.
This ability, “carried happiness”, is passed on through parent-child relationships and it grows as your child interacts with others.
A suggestion for the week: Parenting Happily
In knowing that “carried happiness” is passed on to your children, try to take every opportunity to develop this process by making use of daily moments like the following examples:
· Let your children know that “regardless of their mistakes, they are a good person and worthy of being treated well”- I.E. if they accidently break something when helping you decorate the house for the holidays or in helping you in the kitchen.
· Take the opportunity at story time to reinforce the happiness message, or when you are in the grocery store, or in the car, doing laundry, etc., etc.
· Take a few moments to write down some specific instances where you can take advantage of the opportunity to engage with your child and nourish their “carried happiness” that they will have throughout their lifetime.
During these seemingly trivial moments, our interactions can leave lasting imprints that nurture your child’s inner happiness. There are countless opportunities every day, but we must be in the moment throughout the day to seize those opportunities. It is very easy to get distracted and run on auto-piolet, but I suggest trying to provide authentic, compassionate and arming interactions in the times that you noted in the exercise and take note of your progress in nourishing them often.
Have a happy week!