This blog site isn't going as I had planned or as stated in my intention to the right hand side over there. All I can say is, oh well. And this is the topic for today's article.
The BIGGEST improvement I have made as a parent and a person, is to let go of my attachment to my desires. Do not be fooled into believing that this means being dispassionate, it is rather a sense of accepting and allowing. It is the most liberating thing in my life. Now there is a grand statement for you.
As a parent, we have countless 'desires' all day long. The desire for our child to hurry up and get their shoes on so we can get out of the door on time for school. The desire to be able to write a blog article without being interrupted. The desire to have an uninterrupted conversation with a friend. A desire for our child to eat their dinner, get their teeth brushed, get their clothes on without nagging, be nice, use their manners, be helpful rather than having a screaming tantrum in the middle of the supermarket, and so it goes on.
I haven't had one of those overnight transformations, rather it has been building over the last year or so. I am slowly increasing the number of times in a day that I STOP and turn my focus to the emotion that is building within me, and label it as my friend 'frustration'. I then ask myself, what difference is one minute going to make to getting to school on time? I can slow myself down and ask my child nicely to move a little quicker in getting his shoes on. I feel better because I haven't yelled. He feels better because he hasn't been yelled at, and we only get to school one minute later than hoped. The other added benefit, is the increase in peaceful feelings that arise because I have taken a moment to return to an observation state rather than being "in" the emotion.
Letting go and allowing things to be as they are rather than get so attached to having things be a particular way, has helped me in many areas of my life. I have always been pretty accepting of others, but now I have a real sense of allowing others to walk their journey. I can make comment or observation on how others are choosing to live, but not attach judgment to those observations - rather see them with interest.
I am more readily able to see how truly magnificent my life is and the small amount of suffering that I endure - most of which is self inflicted, let's be honest.
Allowing creates happiness and peace and we all just want to be happy, right?
