Dealing with disruptions to life

Life changes are never easy. The transition to a new school year can feel particularly challenging. In these times of change...

...is your child having emotional outbursts or feeling more wound-up?

...is she more forgetful or careless?

...do you find yourself making more mistakes than usual?

It's so natural to feel frustrated and stressed with ourselves and our child during this time. Why can't it just be easier?! Why isn't everything going more smoothly?

But if we choose compassion-

everything will go smoothly, even when the road gets bumpy and mistakes are made.

Compassion slows us down enough and gives us the space we need to accept the mistakes, the big feelings, the reactivity.

Compassion is the kindness that makes all these disruptions a normal part of life. We allow.

It is what it is- not good, not bad.

We accept.

The mistake isn't a mistake. We didn't mess up. It's just life happening, unfurling. Everything's okay. It doesn't have to be perfect, we can let go.

Compassion can feel like someone offering us a handful of freshly picked flowers. A breath of fresh air, a thing of beauty. Everything has a new perspective. Nothing is as bad as it seems.

Compassion offers us a choice in the moment. We get to decide how the disruption is going to affect our lives.

And when we shift our orientation to the problem, the solution becomes clear- we can think things through again and help our child do the same.