The New Year has arrived. Many of us welcome the new year as an opportunity to resolve to do specific things differently than we have done in the past. Common resolutions include spending more time with family and friends, exercising more, eating better, stopping drinking and smoking, eliminating debt, and being a kinder person. Such good stuff. And sometimes a different way emerges; and sometimes we revert back to our habitual ways.
All these resolutions have one thing in common -- they each seek to restore balance to our minds, hearts, and bodies. While New Years marks a beautiful time to want to move in the direction of inner harmony and balance, we know that the milestone of the passage of another year is merely symbolic. And we look into that symbolism for something to motivate us to make changes we deeply seek, but have difficulty bringing into being.
Mindfulness practice naturally brings about the same objective -- restoring balance. In this way, mindfulness practice is really a way of seeing each and every moment with a fresh perspective and as the new one that it is.
Mindful parenting allows us to deepen our connection to the new moment -- to the new year -- by connecting more deeply with our child. Today's verse is:
My child's sounds
Are new sounds
My own voice
Resonates throughout the cosmos
Today, when you hear your child make a sound, recite this verse open awareness to the fact that this sound was never uttered before. It is beautiful in its newness. Then, allow your child's sound to prompt you to utter your own sound. Perhaps "ahhh." As you do, press your hands to your chest and feel the vibrations. Breathe deeply and direct your attention into your body, to the source of the sound.
This sound, like the monent, is new. Smile as you awaken to the moment, a forever blossoming new year.