Be Present with The Moment and Your Emotions...Be a Child!

I read a great blog post the other day by Be Quoted.  She observed how her toddler daughter interacted with her husband and decided that maybe she should incorporate some of her daughters behaviors into her own interaction with her husband.  She thought about things like running to the door, screaming his name when he came home or grabbing his hand when they were out for a walk.  She thought about being totally present in her emotion and the moment when she was with her husband, just like her daughter did. 

I totally loved the idea of taking lessons from my kids about life.   So I observed them today.

They woke up and one snuggled in bed to finish reading a book and the other went off to pet each of the four cats.  Neither of them wondered if they had time to do a load of laundry before getting everyone ready.

They took 40 minutes to eat their cereal.  They looked at it and talked about it and ate only as much as they needed to feel full.  Nobody gulped down massive spoonfuls of yogurt without breathing.

They picked  out their clothes in crazy and colorful and comfy combinations.  Neither of them gave a single consideration to fat jeans.

When we went paint pottery this afternoon they picked items and colors that they loved.  Nobody picked a plate because it was useful or miss green because it went with their dining room decor.

Now they are in ballet and they are spinning and pointing and swaying with an appreciation for technique but mostly wrapped in the fun of the movement.  They are not running for 20 minutes on a treadmill to get in their daily cardio.

What did I learn from this observation?   I guess it would be that it is clear that being present in the moment means behaving like a child.  So  I am going to do an experiment next week and give it a try.  I am going to do what I want and act how I feel and see if my family and I can survive a week of my childhood!  As an adult who is responsible for the care and feeding of others, I wonder how much you can behave like a child while still keeping everyone from being naked or dead.  I guess we will find out!

YOUR TURN
Try it with me.  Spend next week behaving like a child.  Let's check in next week and see how we did!