by Cary Anne Fitzgerald, PDHP Parent/Community Outreach Coordinator
My alarm ran out of snoozes so I rolled out of bed and went through the motions of preparing for the day. It was routine, but it was mindless. I had no connection whatsoever to these necessary actions. I caught myself and realized I needed a change. After a few years of fighting to be fully present, I found Mindfulness. Yes, I say that it was a fight; this kind of attunement is not easily understood by others, “just do what you have to do and that’s it”. Then a principal posed some questions at a faculty meeting, “do you call the students by name…do you greet people you pass by in the hall…do you even see them…how do those entering into our school feel to be here?”
This all falls into Mindfulness. Why do we do the things we do? Is there purpose? Is there benefit? Is there enjoyment? Is there helpfulness? Do we judge? Do we listen to our self-talk- is it positive, is it negative? Are we dealing with difficult emotions? Do we wallow in them? Do we mask them? Do we revel in positive emotions or do we move on to the next thing? In our last blog, I posed the questions, who are we now; who will we be after? I am only sure that mindfulness will be part of my answer.
Mindfulness has benefitted me in work, in parenting and personally. I understand myself more, meet my emotions better and I hope that I can help others to do the same. Tune into some mindful practices this week. Maybe it is simply recognizing the things you feel help you to start your day on the best foot. Maybe it is also recognizing what is having the opposite effect. For me, it’s a few stretches, prayer and a mental noting of five things for which I am grateful and it is also repelling the urge to scroll through news feeds & social media as soon as I wake. In a matter of minutes, I have addressed some physical, spiritual and emotional needs and equipped myself to begin my day and assist my child in beginning her own. You see, mindfulness trickles down to others. Try to give yourself this opportunity this week and see what you notice.
For more mindfulness and parenting, follow Cary Anne at https://www.facebook.com/PDHPParents/