I love to write about my girls, so when I read the latest question by @ecotrain, I was very excited to share my thoughts. And yet it took me a while to actually get started, because, where to start. How to begin describing the amazing things about our children and about parenting.
The question, asks us to describe five amazing things children and five amazing things about parenting. Which obviously go hand in hand, so no doubt there will be an overlap. I want to write about my children specifically.
I absolutely love my girls imagination’s, my 3 are at very different stages, being 4,8 and 12 years of age. Getting to see how their imaginations have developed and helped prepare them for life, is amazing. I love, how they can create and go into their own elaborate worlds, how they come up with their own songs and how excited, they get to share it all with me. I hear them all the time singing and talking as they explore the lands they have invented. I really love that my 12 year daughter still has a very active imagination.
I love how excited they get, when they learn new things. The pride they have at having learnt something by themselves, from how to write certain letters or words, or finding answers to different math problems or after observing animals or insects navigate the world around them. A few weeks back, my youngest came running int me, so excited because she had discovered how to knot by herself. I also remember how proud my two eldest girls were, when they learnt to cycle and to swim by themselves.
My girls, especially my two eldest girls can be a little shy when they first meet someone. They like to sit back and observe, but once they get to know them, they are super confident with talking with people of all ages. They have friends of various ages, that they love to hang out, both kids and adults. This is something that I think is very important, as children’s voices so I often go unheard and yet they have so much to offer us. If we expect them to respect us, then we must first show them respect.
All children bring such a huge amount of light into the world. They arrive full of love and with a desire to bond and learn. As a parent, there is nothing that compares to the love a child gives you, it simply radiates from them. From their whole being. I have easily spend hours looking at my children, feeling they love they have for me. That look of love that a baby gives its mother/parent, that is pure magic. It is simply amazing the effect that their presence has on the world.
I love the sense of awe and fascination that children have about the world around them. Constantly reminding us, how amazing the earth is. They notice everything, they are so tuned in, to their environment and they embody the art of living mindfully. It is all about the present moment, they feel everything and they don’t hold back when it comes to expressing themselves, well my girls don't anyhow.
And now onto parenting. I love being a parent, for sure it is super challenging at times, but I have grown, so much since I became one. Having children, is like having someone shine a magnifying glass over you. You really are given the opportunity to confront who you are. Children don’t miss a thing and they pick up on all of your mannerism’s and the many patterns that we repeat.
They are really good at bringing things up to the surface. Then it is up to us, to decide how we move forward, once they do.
It allows us to really connect with our inner child, to play and create again. To really explore that sense of awe and wonder with them. Allowing ourselves to see the world in a different light.
I already highlighted how children embody the art of living mindfully, because of that, they are a daily reminder for us to live more mindfully as well. When you chose to parent consciously, you really become aware about how you speak, the language that you use, you very much need to be present and self regulate if needed. All of which, provide wonderful opportunities to learn and grow.
And that brings me onto, how parenting has really helped me to explore my own life on a deeper level. It has certainly given me much more confidence, in facing who I am and where I have come from. Because of this life changing role, I certain feel more prepared for life and excited for it, because I know that my children will be such wonderful additions to the world.
Being an parent has brought me so much love and really opened my heart up to receive even more love. The love you have for your children, is unlike any other type of love. I would do anything for my girls and they have made me a better person. I have become so much more focused and committed, to creating a better world.You really get a sense of how powerful love is, when you become a parent.
A big thank you to the EcoTrain, for giving me this opportunity to really reflect on and share the magic, that being a parent has given me. It is certainly one of the best things that has happened to me and I am so grateful to my children, for coming into my life!
