Mindful Children

Both my kids have very wild spirits. They are independent, and adventurous, and gloriously strong-willed. They have an abundance of energy and like to climb pretty much everything they see. They, like most children, have moments of anger and frustration, moments when they quarrel, or make the wrong choices. But they are funny and sweet and loving and smart, and amazing in so many ways. 

They are bright little beings learning to navigate life, and life can be hard. 

I want to my kids to grow up encompassed in happiness and love. I want them to be able to be wild and free. But I want them to know peace. I want to give them the tools they need to deal with life when life gets hard. I want them to grow up with morals and be kind, caring, friendly people. I want them to understand their emotions and how to deal with them, or how to deal with other people's emotions. I want them to know how to be present; how to slow down and enjoy the small wonders in life. 

We try to begin our mornings practicing these things; spending time doing yoga or meditating, or talking about character traits that we want for ourselves, or talking about our emotions; we try to find moments in the day to be grateful for, we look for lessons in our mistakes, and we talk about how we're feeling when we handle a situation poorly; and we try to end our day thankful for our lives and each other.  I think these are great gifts to pass along to them; the ability to quiet our minds when we are feeling worry or self doubt or stress; the ability to release that stress in a positive way; an understanding that we are all one, here on earth, and that we should love and accept other, including ourselves; that life is only as bad as you're choosing to make it; that we should find lessons in hard moments and grow from them; and that we have the power to be happy and positive whenever we choose.

Happiness is not determined by what's happening around you
 but rather by what's happening with in you.