Time with my children is undeniably precious. I cannot measure this time in clock-strokes, but in the attention given to moments of connection.
Tonight I dance around the living room with my youngest daughter. We dance, snuggle close, singing cheek to cheek. At bedtime, my oldest daughter and I laugh our way through a prayer- recounting the gifts of the day: from friends returned from vacation, to a loose tooth still hanging in there, to a random annoying flea!
These moments glisten like silver strands in the messy tangle of living. This is not just precious time, it is spiritual practice-- the practice of cultivating every day joy and peace. In the mornings this week, the kids have been accompanying me on the train ride, and walking with me through the woods to the summer camp right next door to my workplace It's a hard walk for them in the summer heat, but we stop to witness nature along the way-- to feel the lush grass and watch a turquoise-winged dragonfly, to see if there are berries ripe enough to eat.
It is the moments- preparing dinner together, bowing and offering gratitude, listening to random insights from an 8 year old, answering silly questions from a 5 year old- that we practice to cultivate our peace. They wind their way through the whining, the arguing, the difficult struggles. Fall in, fall in I tell myself- when I would sometimes rather build a wall, retreat into solitude away from the messy chaotic times. When time with my frustrating kids seems no antidote to the craziness of this world, and is something I would rather resist.
But liberation comes from giving in, from opening to life without resistance. And cultivating connections at home is an antidote, a way of planting seeds to counter the insanity of life. They feel messy now, but will grow fruitful in time. Creating peace in my home means the continual nurturing of our shared relationships, of our interdependent web.Author Barbara Kingsolver once wrote, "My best revenge against all the dishonesty and hatred in the world...will be to raise right up through the middle of it these honest and loving children." Mothering well is important spiritual work, and I renew my intention to the journey.
Tonight I dance around the living room with my youngest daughter. We dance, snuggle close, singing cheek to cheek. At bedtime, my oldest daughter and I laugh our way through a prayer- recounting the gifts of the day: from friends returned from vacation, to a loose tooth still hanging in there, to a random annoying flea!
These moments glisten like silver strands in the messy tangle of living. This is not just precious time, it is spiritual practice-- the practice of cultivating every day joy and peace. In the mornings this week, the kids have been accompanying me on the train ride, and walking with me through the woods to the summer camp right next door to my workplace It's a hard walk for them in the summer heat, but we stop to witness nature along the way-- to feel the lush grass and watch a turquoise-winged dragonfly, to see if there are berries ripe enough to eat.
It is the moments- preparing dinner together, bowing and offering gratitude, listening to random insights from an 8 year old, answering silly questions from a 5 year old- that we practice to cultivate our peace. They wind their way through the whining, the arguing, the difficult struggles. Fall in, fall in I tell myself- when I would sometimes rather build a wall, retreat into solitude away from the messy chaotic times. When time with my frustrating kids seems no antidote to the craziness of this world, and is something I would rather resist.
But liberation comes from giving in, from opening to life without resistance. And cultivating connections at home is an antidote, a way of planting seeds to counter the insanity of life. They feel messy now, but will grow fruitful in time. Creating peace in my home means the continual nurturing of our shared relationships, of our interdependent web.Author Barbara Kingsolver once wrote, "My best revenge against all the dishonesty and hatred in the world...will be to raise right up through the middle of it these honest and loving children." Mothering well is important spiritual work, and I renew my intention to the journey.
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