Hammer vs. Porcelain Figurine

Greetings y'all :

Y'all know I'm fasting during daylight hours ostensibly for Ramadan but selfishly to cleanse my mind, body and soul. This time I've worked mindfully of the nutrients I choose , my thoughts and my (re)actions. Last evenings repast of homemade soup, homemade bread and homemade hummus was tasty, nutritious and filling. It's rather satisfying to cook by thoughtfully blending natural ingredients as opposed to opening a box and preparing a plethora of man made chemicals. I actually looked at the food in front of me and contemplated not indulging. I'd gone 23 hours without food or drink. I felt peckish but not starving. I also felt guilty that I could willing indulge while too many of my fellow humans have little to nothing. It made me feel truly blessed. I savored every chew of every bite and the full flavor or the nutrients.

So why start my blog with a running self serving monologue? Why not , is the short snarky answer. But relax and enjoy today's editorial journey is the truer response.

Yesterday I also relearned , or revisited if you will, the adage that I can only control my mind, my thoughts, my actions, my reactions , and my perceptions. I have learned , the excruciatingly hard way, to stop and think before speaking. Although I momentarily failed doing that yesterday.

The key for me is empathy. Can I calm my mind enough to view the other persons view point? What is going on holistically with the other person ? When we have encounters with other sentient beings it more than a mere interaction of that moment . We both bring our own history , song line , experiences, biases , stress, joy, personality, desires, goals , DNA, attitude, etc... It can be difficult to see the whole person but for the sake of the middle way it is imperative we do so.

Now let's transfer that to confines if our own family unit. Many times we "see" a myriad of family members in our progeny and relatives. But do we also see the individual ? No one , let me repeat no one is exactly the same as anyone else. Not even twins. Everyone has there own DNA , life experience , and perception. It is critical we see the uniqueness and value of every one we encounter and encourage and honor that in our kin.

Xander has had a rough few days at camp. Bad choices on his part. Sorry buddy I love you to the moon and back but you are responsible for your words and actions. He in lies the spanner in the works- he is eight and has the processing skills of an eight year old. This lesson will be repeated because of that fact. How then do approach it to help him raise his "Emotional Intelligence" ( great book by Daniel Golman- I recommend everyone read it) I've learned with junior mint it's best to address the problem, have him solve the problem , then let it go. It helps keep the anxiety level to a minimum while keeping the growth to a maximum. Unfortunately twice this , because of mis-communications at camp, he was hit with double jeopardy. Wait I had consequences, solved it, made amends and moved forward and now your retro punishing me again. OK that may be my inner daddy oversimplified take on the situation but it's my perception.

He's not perfect but I'm seeing him backslide after these interactions. And he was making great strides and progress . Just when I thought I could relax for a bit I'm back to putting pieces together. If you hammer a porcelain figurine you can't blame the figurine for shattering.

Gotta run folk need to grab my emotional super glue and prepare for the day.

Thanks for the visit!