What the children saw

 

What the children saw....

Over the last 18 months or so,  I can't help but reflect on what the kids have seen through these months.   I began reflecting on it more lately because my son was to write a speech for his 8th grade graduation.   And we were going down the list of things that made a permanent mark for him - example - the Australian fires -Kobe Bryant's death, Chadwick Boseman death, the end of a trump presidency - and then he said the word "COVID."  In between that George Floyd's murder and the rise of the Black Lives Matter movement -   It was an interesting exercise to go down memory lane with him - but definitely not the kind of memory lane that is normal.   Their last 18 months were either confined to a screen, family time and also being exposed to the numerous current events that continued to shape their young minds. 

It's just so much and I can't help but wonder how that gets processed in their brains.    Does it make a child to want to do more to change the world?  Or does it make them indifferent?  That - this is the way of the world and there is nothing we can do about it?  Or does it make them live in fear that something bad is going to happen?  I feel for these kids - b/c even though i had my share of current events while growing up - this is a slightly different.  This can seriously alter the way a child internalizes or externalizes the world around them.  I went to visit someone the other day - and her daughter who is 6 said to me "I have missed you".  Her mom said, " but u see her on facetime". and then her daughter said the most profound thing " But there is a difference with the human connection- and seeing someone live."  yes there is!!! She is so right and coming from a young one who spent 18 months in lockdown and on zoom classes because school was virtual.   

And then I think about the moms and dads who have little ones who are doing absolutely everything to entertain their kids so they are not glued to a device - from arts and crafts, to dance parties to playing dress up - and I give them kudos - because it is not easy.   

Children are resilient that is for sure- they survive and come out stronger -some better than others.  But we have an obligation to provide safety and a normal life for them as we come out of this pandemic.  We owe it to them since they are the ones that I feel have suffered the most.  I think about the ones that are living in silence and unable to call out for help - I think about the ones who were isolated and began having symptoms of anxiety and depression as a result of this pandemic - and then I think about the ones who decided that they are going to make the most of their time and do something creative or challenge themselves.   

I hope especially as summer has officially begun kids of all ages get to feel carefree, happy, and just get to be kids no matter what stage they are in their lives.  School will come again in the fall and they will go back to the daily grind - but hopefully this summer - they just get to play - like they used to before the pandemic.  

Journal Prompt:  What does it mean to play for you?  Write about playing in the sand.  Write about playing in water.  Or you can begin with the sentence "I play to .....

Happy Journaling!!

Switching Gears

 Last weekend was the beginning of what we would say is summer in the US.  It was a long weekend and a much needed long weekend considering that last summer we were in lockdown mode.  This year with mandates and indoor restrictions being lifted, we were all looking forward to our past beginning of summer celebrations.  For us it would be going to our swim club, for others by the beach, and then there are more who decided to travel and get that much needed break.  For those of us who decided to stay local, we were in for a surprise - it rained the whole weekend - and it was cold.  Luckily for me, I had signed up for a retreat online so I was able to use that time for personal growth and reflection.   It was almost as if the universe was saying - "Stay PUT" don't go anywhere just stay and be.  And instead of fighting it, I decided to just go along with it. How many of us are put in the situation when things just don't go as planned.  Actually much of life is just like that - it just doesn't go according to plan.   And so we have two choices - switch gears or get stuck.   For me I have chosen to stop feeling stuck in situations because a year of pandemic lockdown has given me way too much time to see how stuck I really am in some ways.  So i switch gears every time something doesn't go according to plan.   It has made my life so much easier and I don't know why I didn't think of this earlier.   

Switching gears I believe allows me to move forward - and feel in control of something even if I have no idea what the outcome is going to be.  I think I largely owe this to yoga - During the entire lockdown for the last 14 months or so - every morning my husband and I would start our day with a yoga class from Yoga International.  It became sort of a routine.   A routine we both knew saved our day because we had no idea what was going to land on us.   That was our saving grace.  It centered me, it taught me to look fear in the face rather than retreat and it allowed me to rest in moments of activity.   Who would think that you can actually come to a resting point in a flash of a second if you just learned to breath the right way?   And the power of how that same breath can save your day.   So every day we did that and if weather permitting every evening we went for a walk.   That was our activity.  It became our routine because we were forced to come up with something that would allow for some physical activity in our lives.   

So this past weekend when I woke up on Saturday morning and saw what the weather forecast was - I knew it was okay to  not do the things we normally would like to do on a long weekend.  With my retreat in hand, and knowing how physically tired I was feeling - this turned out to be a self-care weekend. A much needed self-care weekend.  

There are silver linings to this pandemic and one of them is teaching us to slow down, teaching us to be more flexible and teaching us to be more tolerant.   As my husband says jokingly - "we didn't get divorced by the end of this and thats a big deal."  Yes it is a big deal because we have seen the rates of divorces go up dramatically because of covid.  I was forced to find that one thing that would save me.   At that time it was yoga - not writing - but yoga, meditation and what we call "bhajans."  Bhajans are spiritual songs in hindi/sanskrit and the house was filled with bhajans during this lockdown.  They give me energy, inspiration and joy.  These three saved me - and even if my husband won't admit it - it saved him. 

So when things don't go the way you want - you have to find that one thing that will get you to center, that will give you the courage to switch gears, that will allow you to learn to accept without resistance.  So much fighting only creates more feud and at the end of the day its not worth it.  I found mine -And by finding mine - one year later, it has taken me on another journey.   I ask if you found yours.  If you did write about it.  Write about the process.  Write about the joy.  Write about the frustration.   Just write.   

And if you are stuck, here is a prompt:

What saved me was......

Happy Journaling!!!