Tag: mindfulness

General, Mindfulness l

Reliving the 3 R’s

growingupmatters

Children’s lives are so very sorted should I say! Till such time they are school going, the pattern is almost seamless.There are the 3 r’s we all have grown up with and this pretty much has shaped most of us and so will they for our kids. Some physical play/activity is how we end up ploughing their extra energies and voila! life and living is well worth it for them!

In our growing up and adding years and experiences along the way, the elements of the 3 r’s gradually begin to taper off for some of us. This void is filled with other important elements but if somehow we  all could retain these r’s,  the entirety of living becomes more meaningful! I am sitting here explaining to the kids the importance of writing to learn as a better bet  compared to mere reading and trusting our memories. Blessed are those folks whose kids are born with a photographic memory but for mine, I am more for writing. A good attempt must be made by us senior folk as well to include writing as one of our outlets in ways one finds befitting to our  personalities. Penning down small thoughts which are read so often seem more meaningful once we have actually written them down. The minute you have physically used a pen, the retention is that much more. This is well proven beyond doubt.

Reading has all its pluses for vocabulary, thoughts etc.etc. and we encourage the kids to take this up seriously. For the ones grown up on this wonderful hobby and are pursuing it still, it’s smooth but for the many who have given this up along the way thanks to the many media distractions and other pursuits ,taking time out for insightful or inspirational or fun or general reading keeps ones  mental juices flowing and then exchanging talks and ideas with people around  feels more enriching and interesting.

The R associated with numbers is pushed aside , noticeably, by many of us thinking about it being complex. Well actually this too needs to be exercised else this bit can get rusted sooner than we think. The benefits of number games and other similar engagements is again well researched and proven. Small self challenges on our part to crack this number code can be actually very good for us.

For better options and sometimes better excuses and justification of the same, we move away from these. Taking some time out from our routine schedules and actually making an effort to re -explore and re -learn the forgottens can be a good start to re – energise our adult minds.

General, Mindfulness l, Parenting

B A L A N C E

growingupmatters

Some days I start my days by taking the customary yogic breathe – ins and breathe – outs to the count of 8 ..it’s somewhere a wonderful start for me. The day goes on peacefully without me raising my whisper forget my voice. Then there are days I find myself pigging on the leftover cake over the kitchen sink first thing in the morning and how the day goes with the kids , is well, the less said the better! I call this BALANCE!

It’s rather easy to see and know the dictionary meaning of the word but to practice it in real time, well , that’s the challenge! There is complete awareness of how the scales need to be balanced while dealing with kids but if only it can be done everyday! Certain ground rules are a must and adherence to the same is the key. Kids are very savvy to wrangle out an extra hour for TV watching on school days or randomly listening to a so-called  THE  song when it’s completely out of turn and tune! A good balance of temperament is what is needed most to handle such situations. This , for me, really comes from a firm affirmation to begin the day on a positive note. Honestly , as most mindful living books preach and teach – meditation , chants for some, first positive thoughts etc.sets the precedent for the day and once this is done, the day with kids is a cakewalk! It’s so very nice to close the day with the feel good feeling! There are days where I end them with perfect rants and feel good with that too but then as I say, that’s MY balance!

To try and maintain harmony in a household with school going children around, my experience is to plan out my days’ chores in a physically and mentally dealable manner, to try and not pack too much in those awake hours if they are really not time pressing urgencies. Of course, exceptions are there to this ideal mix but on a larger scale if a sort of doable list is maintained, the day seems sorted in most aspects and the smoothness of ones dealings with the children is for all to see! On that note, let’s try and figure out our own individual wheels to move on smoothly.