Parenting: The Time is Now - Our Commitment to Ourselves and our Children

An awakening occurred this month in a small elementary school in Connecticut. And it occurred recently in Clackamas, Oregon, in Aurora, Colorado, at Virginia Tech, and in Columbine.

These events, along with our feelings upon reading deaths of teenagers in our own towns, or violence against children anywhere in the world touch our souls deeply and at that moment, at the time we are touched so significantly…we are awakened. 

Because we are spiritually, emotionally, and mentally shaken, we are the feeling of connection, of compassion, of empathy. We are one.

We then move forward with our lives feeling a bit lost, a bit disconnected and soon we ‘recover’ and lose our universal bond until the next horror occurs awakening us once again.

The innocence attacked reaches deeply and causes our emotions to stir, to become alive and ignited.  So comes to the topic of this week’s column: What is our commitment for our children this year?

Our resolve or our commitment for the upcoming year is approaching. How do we make a difference in our world; in our connection to one another, as well as to our children? How do we continue the feeling of connection?

It could look political.  

Perhaps joining an organization with the belief of bettering our world could engage your family or just you into a connective thought process. Perhaps it could be the lobbying against assault weapons or more help for the mentally ill. A few moments attending school meetings or local city council meetings may be the way you connect yourself politically. When is it time?

Another stage may include a more spiritual connection.

Perhaps revisiting faith and hope may send messages to our brothers and sisters all over the world. Although attending church services once a week forces one to calm and center, a daily routine of breathing and of feeling is another way of recreating the bond between all of us. Tyler Perry stated recently, “What do you do when you feel like prayer is not enough? You pray some more.”

Our platform may be simply being mindful in our actions and words. Do we need to show or allow violence and applaud killing in the media? Instead, can we use this as a vehicle to discuss the disconnect it creates. 

Our family took some time together two weekends ago to sit with the recent tragedy, to sit with each other, and to discuss the effects of our system failing us all.

Many parents last week began hugging their children and restating their love. Tears, hugs, anger, frustrations and fears were and are continued to be shared. The awakening is here.

This is a beginning of the depth of which we need to explore. Our resolutions go beyond losing a few pounds this year. 

Our president stated, “To end these tragedies we must change.” 

Marianne Williamson expressed, “The changes are both external and internal.  We need to control the guns on our streets and in our head.  It is not either/or…it is both/and.” 

We are continually tested as individuals in this life on a spiritual level, on a political level, on a global level as well as a private level. It is now time to commit to awakening on a daily basis without the horror, without the pain, without the tears.  It is time.

May your new year be one of enlightenment, growth and peace.

namaste