When we become parents, life changes. We experience new challenges, stresses, struggles, responsibilities, obligations, and vulnerabilities in addition to all the new errands and noise! Our little miracles—each and every one—are well worth it.
Children are vibrant and pure potential. They are who and what they are, and they invite us to share in their joy, learning, emergence, and hope. Kids live in the present moment—“right now”—and, if we are listening and watching, they teach us to be there with them. Children can teach us how to be connected, attuned, and joyful.
To be with our children in their pure, unburdened place, we need to remember that it’s necessary to be open to their world. For example, a two-year-old may be doing exactly what a two-year-old should be doing under a given set of circumstances. If we can remember that we are the adults with the ability to self-reflect, then we can respond to our two-year-old with a certain amount of wisdom, compassion, and acceptance, rather than reacting to a faulty expectation. A two-year-old, for instance, cannot respond like an eight-year-old, even if it would be more convenient for us at the moment.
Being a parent does have challenges, yet being in the present moment with our children brings a certain harmony to the way things actually are.