 How often do you spend time meditating when you feel overloaded at work, challenged as a parent, or trying to balance it all? Meditation has a way of gently bringing us back to ourselves when life feels loud or overwhelming. When I sit and slow my breath, I notice how much tension I’ve been carrying—often without realizing it—and how quickly it can soften when I give myself permission to pause. Over time, meditation has helped me relate to my thoughts with more kindness and less judgment. Instead of being pulled around by worry or self-criticism, I’m better able to stay present, listen inwardly, and respond to life with more clarity and steadiness.
On a deeper level, meditation supports our overall well-being in ways that ripple outward. It can help us sleep more soundly, feel less reactive under stress, and recover more quickly when things are difficult. That sense of inner calm doesn’t mean challenges disappear, but it can give us a stable place to meet them from. With continued practice, we can show up with more patience, compassion, and openness—not just for ourselves, but in our relationships and everyday moments as well. Think that sitting still and meditating sounds too challenging? Check out this article "9 Meditation Hacks for People Who Can’t Meditate." It gives multiple options including Walking Meditation and Animal Time. tinyurl.com/5d5x7vnh Try out the different methods of bringing more awareness and presence into your life to find the ones that resonate the most with you. Lastly, breathing can serve as a simple yet powerful way to reconnect inwardly and return to the present moment. Find a place to sit quietly and take some deep, cleansing breathes. By bringing attention to the rhythm of the breath, awareness naturally settles into the body, creating a sense of grounding and stability. Each inhale invites openness and ease, while each exhale encourages the release of tension and mental clutter. In this way, breathing becomes a steady point of connection—always available—offering a calm, reliable path back to balance and self-awareness, even during moments of stress or uncertainty. Finding the time and space to bring in presence, breathing, and self-awareness isn't easy but finding ways to incorporate it into your day can be life-changing. Consider taking 5 minutes in the morning before you get out of bed. Do some deep breathing on your drive or commute to work. Take a short walk on your lunch break. Teach your children about the importance of breathing--google some books for your age child about mindfulness or breathing. Try out an app on your phone like Insight Timer, Tapping Solution, or Headspace.  Simon Sinek, American author, and inspirational speaker who focuses on leadership and business, has said that the closest thing to leadership is parenting and that we need to be an infinite student of parenting. He states that parenting is a lifestyle that begins with the commitment that "I am responsible for another human being." So how do we develop this lifestyle?
Sinek says that like great leaders, parents need to accept that it is a lifestyle that must include our commitment to learn and grow. Being a parent means learning how to be a better listener, find healthy ways to give and receive feedback, develop ways of effective confrontation, and use constructive discipline, when necessary. Maybe you might think that you are good at one or more of these areas. But the greatest way to grow in these areas is to be curious and willing to try. He makes the following suggestions:
To view the interview with Simon Sinek: www.youtube.com/watch?v=qepXx2SYRfs  The Asaro ethnic group in Indonesia and Papua New Guinea has a beautiful saying: “Knowledge is only a rumor until it lives in the muscle.” Having knowledge about something is a great start but moving that knowledge into practice is when it comes alive. We can move what we are learning from our heads to our hearts through our hands with practice and experience.
During high school, I had struggled enormously with science classes. I could memorize the material for tests, but I couldn’t really understand it or explain it. Deep inside, I felt that I wasn’t smart enough—at least not in this area. I felt like a fraud—pretending to know something that I didn’t. I had a profound experience when I was 29 years old, having recently graduated from two years of seminary. I participated in an Ocean Challenge leadership program that involved fishing on the ocean in a 28-foot boat using handlines to catch tuna. After an initial training period, I became a boat captain. The first thing I had to do was to repair the engine which wasn’t working after being in storage over the winter. Since the engine needs to be in the ocean to start it, we attached a piece of plywood to the back end of the boat and labored to fix the engine without falling in. Through this experience of collaborating with a female mechanic, I discovered that I wasn’t dumb; I just needed the hands-on opportunity to move knowledge into practical experience. Learning about the roles that spark plugs and pistons play in bringing the engine to life was so liberating. That summer, I gained a great deal of confidence and I caught an 800 pound tuna with my crew--pictured above. In my book, "7 Gifts to Give Your Child--Parenting That Will Touch Their Future," I have included a chapter on The Gift of Experience because this is an essential part of our parenting role—giving our children the experiences of doing activities together as a family (creating memories) as well as opportunities to discovery, explore and experience moving knowledge into the heart, the body, and the present. The Gift of Experience covers many different areas. There are experiences together as a family—exploring or camping in nature, going on a memorable trip, or looking at creating special experiences around birthdays and other holidays. Our children need community experiences, activities, and organizations that support healthy challenges and collaboration—hiking clubs, sports, 4-H programs, choir, band, church youth groups, Big Brother-Big Sister programs, and more. For my boys, Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts provided amazing adventures that they could participate in together with their friends. They learned how to camp overnight in the snow, safely use a bow and arrow, as well as load and shoot a BB gun and shotgun. As our children approach the teen years, we might take some advice from Dr. Tim Elmore, international speaker, and best-selling author. He states that he has found six experiences that help foster authentic maturity as youth grow towards adulthood. They include supporting them to:
If you are already a grandparent, think about what kind of experiences you would like to have together with your grandkids. It has been said that one of the greatest legacies we leave our children and grandchildren is happy memories created by our experiences together. The best gifts are not things. In the words of Eleanor Roosevelt, “The purpose of life is to live it, to taste experience to the utmost, to reach out eagerly and without fear for newer, richer experiences.” Make experiences a part of your family traditions—start now so they don’t need to wait until 29 (or even older.) For more information on my book, click here: 7 Gifts to Give Your Child  Did you know that in addition to Valentine's Day, February is also American Heart Month--a time when all people, especially women, are encouraged to focus on their cardiovascular health and Black History Month--celebrated in February to honor African American achievements and history, started by historian Carter G. Woodson in 1926? That is a lot of good things to celebrate and remember. I would like to share a couple of resources that you, your significant other, and your family can use to create more connection, communication, and celebration. First: There is a movement to switch the focus in February from Valentine's Day to "Generosity Day." It is an excellent way to keep it from becoming too commercial, focusing on candy, gifts, and cards. Whether you are a parent, grandparent, teacher, or friend, you can bring kindness to the forefront. "Doing Good Together" is an online resource for raising children and adults who care and contribute. They have a February 28 Day Kindness Challenge with suggestions for families to do something for others each day. You can discover more about this movement and simple ways to incorporate more kindness and generosity in your family here: take-valentines-day-to-heart.html Second: How you ever wondered how much time should you and your spouse spend together? How much time should you spend separately, doing your own thing? Like so many things in life, it’s all about balance. There’s no perfect equation, and every couple is unique. The sense of balance you find during one season of life may also look a lot different during another – that’s normal! So what happens when you know you’re out of balance? Recognizing you need more “me” or “we” time is one thing, but how do you make the necessary adjustments, in a practical sense? Check out this article from Prepare Enrich to learn some practical tips to help you fit just a bit more “me or we” time into each day. www.prepare-enrich.com/blog/me-time-or-we-time-squeeze-more-into-each-day/ Third: Join the "Self-Care Isn't Selfish" webinar on Saturday, February 14, 10 am PT/1 pm ET. Our presenter, Kendra Stein will guide us to understand and use essential tools for connecting with true respect, uncompromising honesty, and ever-deepening love during her presentation "Fierce Intimacy, Part 2", based on Terry Real's book by the same title. Bring your partner or another family member to the zoom call. To register and get the zoom link: tinyurl.com/Feb-14-Self-Care To view the previous webinar, "Fierce Intimacy, Part 1": youtu.be/WvvOTPD0gLU?si=WkOLPrbooDQqMcl4 For more on Kendra Stein and her work: www.apathtofamilyhealing.com/home  |