A Slower Kind of Life

I am thankful for all the places my feet have walked

There is gratitude in every step.

A gratitude practice that grows

A Deep Gratitude reflection on the miracle that exists beneath our feet

The miracle of heat in a cold climate may have escaped your attention.

A mirror shows me my reflection: the physical image of my body that I am portraying to the world. This is my physical appearance. Do I ever hold up a mirror to look at my actions, my words, my thoughts to see what they are expressing and creating in the world?

You must become aware of where energy may be leaking and plug up those leaks.

When your child starts to talk, you will learn which words and phrases you repeat often. Once you hear your own words coming out of their little mouth, you will quickly be able to evaluate whether you want to continue using those words or not.

Essentially, to see the light in all things, we must drop all judgement. Judgement blocks the light. It creates a negative lens over your view of yourself and your child.

It is easy to be pulled off centre as a new parent. Fatigue, messes, unpredictability, arguments, and more messes arise daily leading to strong emotions like anger, frustration, fear, and judgement. Even when you are engulfed in emotions, your inner place of centered calm is always there for you. You just have to find your way back to it.

It is easy to let the intense needs of babies and young children overwhelm our own needs, leaving us depleted. Self-care is important for parents, but it often gets pushed off to the side – way off to the side.

Guided relaxation practice releases tension from the body and mind and can give you some of the same benefits as sleep. It can also help you wind down so that you fall asleep more easily and deeply.

The ability to cultivate present moment awareness is a gift to parents. The beginning of life is such a precious time, but also busy with tasks, worries, and self-doubt. The ability to cut through the mind’s chatter and be present with your child allows you to cherish a few moments of this special time.

Babies and children need a daily does of our undivided concentrated presence. How do we train our adult minds to be with them in the present moment?

Athletes and CEOs learn skills to help them manage their own physiology to be able to perform optimally in intense situations. Why not parents?

At the very least, by me staying calm, I am not adding fuel to the fire.

Rather than live in fear, I am trying to look at this as an opportunity. How can I take what 2020 is offering me? Rather than fight against the limitations, can I relax into them? Instead of feeling bound, can I feel held? Wrapped in a cocoon created by outer closures, I keep my focus inward and may discover something that I hadn’t noticed because I was so busy.

The increased complications of going out makes us more intentional with our outings and activities and who we spend time with. This is essentially extremely wise use of energy.

I did not really have the mental energy to spend my career being annoyed by people, so instead I changed my experience of them.

I realize that this finding fault thing is a bad habit of my mind that I have transferred from big things like environmental problems to my body, to my home, to people. My mind’s set-point is: “Something is wrong. I have to fix it. I can’t do it” So my experience has been finding things that are wrong that I can’t fix from my career, to my body to the overflowing toys and books in my house.

A week of self-isolation with my almost-four-year-old son led to some valuable insights:

1. Joy is in the present moment

2. Creativity lies beyond boredom

3. I can change my emotional reactions

As things are starting to open up, and we cautiously step forward, it is interesting to look at how we may have been transformed by the experience of stay-at-home. What has come up for you to discover? What changes After this prolonged “retreat”, I believe that some kind of internal change is inevitable.

We have stopped our habitual ways of being long enough that we can begin again. What do we want to create?

My vision for the world is that everyone has and is supported in a lifestyle that promotes optimum health. Imagine being committed to your own health and well-being instead of activities, being busy, and achievement.

It is in extreme circumstances that heroes are born, transformations are made, and evolution occurs. Now is the time to discover who you are.

Rest, repair, and healing can not occur when the body is under continual stress.

Have you ever considered that the “villain” in your life could actually be your friend inviting you on an unexpected adventure?

Last week, I had the opportunity to speak to a group of First Nations youth about my experience with Parkinson’s disease. I really wanted the students to get that they can change their experience by changing their perspective of themselves and of the world around them. Most of all I wanted to tell them that wherever they are in their journey is perfect and that they are worthy of love, dignity and respect just as they are.

I can grieve the loss of the activities and roles that I used to have and then wonder with optimism “What will be next?”.