Welcome.
If you found this short meditation,
You are likely a parent in the middle of riding all of the waves that come with this mission of raising children.
And it doesn't matter the age or the stage.
You might have a toddler or you might have an adult child.
Regardless the cycles of worry.
Fear,
Joy.
Sometimes heartbreak.
The challenges they continue to repeat.
So I invite you to just find a comfortable position.
And set aside the worry and the fear for just a few moments.
And begin to settle into your body.
Give yourself a break and a chance to reset.
Begin by focusing on the breath.
Maybe where you most prominently feel it.
Perhaps that's in your nostrils.
Or in the expansion and contraction of.
The belly area or the chest area.
Just really experiencing the sensations of the breath.
We're taking a moment to.
Drop down from the mind and settle into inhabiting our body.
And fully experiencing our body for a few moments.
And as you continue to focus on the rhythm of the breath,
If a thought appears,
Just acknowledge,
Oh,
There's a thought,
And release it,
And come back to the rhythm and sensations of the breath.
Breathing.
.
.
Breathing in,
Breathing out.
And as you continue to focus,
Just acknowledging that.
This journey of being a parent is really hard and it can get really messy.
And it's normal,
It's natural for it to be hard and messy.
You are not flawed.
It is like this for everyone.
And in the midst of the hard parts,
The messy parts.
That's where the good stuff lies for growth.
This is where we get to learn more about our own humanity and the humanity of others.
And mistakes and missteps are also a natural part of the parenting journey.
So just acknowledging that.
And then welcoming the opportunity for wisdom.
And learning and growth that can come from each hard thing.
Continuing to breathe and as best you can just inhabiting your body.
Giving yourself the gift of this break,
Of this reset.
And as you continue to breathe,
Acknowledging that We cannot control our children.
The only things truly within our control.
Our own attitudes,
Actions,
And reactions.
We're taking this pause.
And grounding yourself.
Removing yourself from some of the spin and chaos of just busy schedules and fear and worry.
And centering and grounding so that.
We do have more control and more choice over.
Our actions and reactions and responses and the ways or the lenses that we're choosing to look at situations through.
Not only is this really important work for your own well-being,
This is really important modeling for our children.
Continuing to focus on your breath.
Just really sensing your body.
Maybe acknowledging that.
So often,
It's easy for habit thinking to take over.
And to propel us into that.
State of fear and worrying about the future of our children.
Catastrophizing.
So as you breathe and reset,
Committing to simply acknowledging habit thinking when it arises.
So maybe you find yourself on a well-worn path of worry and fear and Here comes the habitual sort of spinning of stories and narratives,
Maybe things that aren't actually happening but You're taking a situation that is present and making it bigger than it is.
So just acknowledging,
Saying,
Well,
Hello,
Habit thought.
I see you.
And I release you.
And committing to giving yourself.
Brief moments of time where you can set aside the worry.
And refocus on what is actually happening in the experience of this moment.
What is actually happening within and around the body.
Grounding in your breath,
Or perhaps the sensation of your feet on the floor.
The sounds that you're hearing,
Just a recentering,
A grounding.
Removing yourself from that spin.
Of narratives about the future.
And just finding a place of stability in this moment.
So that you can refocus and respond to whatever is happening.
With a little more calm and a little more effectiveness.
Continuing to focus on your breath.
Showing yourself a little gratitude and compassion for showing up for this practice,
For taking this reset.
For allowing yourself a moment of calm to be able to reconnect with the deep.
Well of wisdom.
That is within each of us and it's always available.
When we can offer ourselves a moment of stillness.
And in that stillness and grounding and recentering,
We can access.
This deeper wisdom.
So that we can be available to ourselves and our children in a new way.
Just acknowledging that through all the hard parts,
You are continually learning and growing and changing each and every day,
And so is your child.
I encourage you to.
.
.
Revisit this,
Reset,
Whenever you feel stuck in that cycle of worry and stress and confusion.
And catastrophizing.
Just coming back.
Coming back to the breath.
Dropping back into your body.
And nourishing yourself in ways.
That will allow you to respond with greater wisdom.
