The busy parent mind
In the Ishaya Foundation’s translation of the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, I found another quote which I really like: “Nothing can be done for the past, it is over; nothing can be done for the future, for it never comes; all that can be done is to make the present Ideal”. It is so true and I constantly have to remind myself of this. As a mum I’m always trying to plan ahead and always thinking about things that need to be done (e.g. clean under the sofa!). On top of that I also have to think for the kids (and sometimes my husband too) – when and what they will need to eat, what they need to wear, what we need to take along if we go out to a playgroup, swimming and so on.
What we can learn from our children
De-clutter
Other things that occupy our minds, apart from what happened, is of course things that we need to do and here lists can be very useful (if they don’t just stay in our heads but are actually written down)! So if you think about what you need to do just write it down until the time comes to do it! Like that you don’t have to think about the fact that there is hardly any milk left when it’s 11pm and you’re lying in bed. Well you can’t do anything about it at 11pm (unless you want to get dressed and go to a 24-hour Tesco of course…) so just write it down and get it out of your mind.
Yoga is of course a great way to clear your mind but I also think that simply the presence of children can make us much more grounded and attuned to the ‘here and now’. They keep us on our toes (so very often we don’t actually have time to think useless stuff) and they can also teach us a lot about how to just be in the moment and enjoy it with them. In the end this is really what’s important to them – spending quality time with their mummy or daddy NOW and not later when the house is clean and all the washing is done. I often hear myself telling my kids to wait until I finished this and that or to stop playing because we’re going somewhere else (very often to play!) but how often do I actually focus completely on playing with them.
This is exactly what I have been vowing this year to do more of. Living in the present moment. Putting my phone and camera away so I can just being silly and have fun with my two tots while I still can and they are young and at home with me. It won’t be long before they are off on their own worldly adventures. What a beautiful post. Thanks for linking up to Share With Me #sharewithme
Thank you for your lovely comment! I’ve written this post when I started blogging and re-reading it now makes me realise how much time my phone takes up!! It’s so hard to switch off from it isn’t it?