A different angle..

One day dear husband lost his cool when dear son was observing ants for hours while he had lots of home work left to do.. they had a heated argument.. I let things settle and asked my son, ” you want to climb Himalayas but you are fishing in Kanyakumari without starting your journey.. how will you reach Himalayas at the earliest possible time?” He smiled and said, “why should I reach at the earliest? Can’t I enjoy fishing in Kanyakumari, the beach in Mahabalipuram, the forests on the way and the zillion sunset and sunrise on the way and reach at my own pace?”

I wanted to prove my point.. I reminded him of the hare and tortoise race on how consistency will help him win.. but he said ” Amma the hare enjoyed a breezy day under the tree.. had a happy nap and filled his life with fun.. the tortoise did nothing except slogging his way to the finish line.. what’s the use? My goals are different ma.. but every one seems to be rushing to some common goal.. I just want to learn about everything around me .. the books don’t teach me all that.. “

Point to ponder over.. why should we be in the race.. why should we have common goals.. why should everyone take the same path.. It’s tough for him and us as we don’t belong to the crowd but everything is custom made for the crowd.. breaking the norms and threading at our own pace is tough.. trying to ignore the push is tough.. trying to find a mid path is tough.. but we will some how do it.. not knowing how the future is going to be, we are just trying our best..

Detached attachment

Whenever he feels sad he would ask for a hug.. he always says it makes him feel better.. but off late he says my hugs are more calming than ever.. yes I too feel more calm than before after I realised something..

I read these words in a holy book, “though your child is from you he/she is not a part of you.. they are separate souls of their own”.. yes I have heard it many times before but it struck me only recently.. I am responsible for the safety and learnings of the child but not entirely for every action of the child.. there is his/her own individual self that responds and reacts differently from mine.. though I can show what is right and wrong, I can’t totally control every act..

Do your ‘Karma’ without expecting is easier said than done.. but I am slowly learning that I have to give my best yet stay detached.. love unconditionally both myself and my kids whatever be the situation.. I am slowly putting the onus of responsibility on them.. they are responsible for their acts.. yes it may sound like a lazy, bad mother but it is the truth.. I want them to grow their wings without burning mine..

The guilt of motherhood is reducing and I am able to enjoy their childhood better.. and offer more calming hugs..

Pandemic and uncertainty

While others are trying their best to keep kids at home due to the pandemic, I have made no efforts.. as there is no need of it! They have not played outside the house or met friends or fought to go out.. it is me and husband who are trying to send them for a walk early morning (mine are early wakers) when no one is around.. they fear everyone now.. we have hardly met anyone since March end.. there have been days of intense melt down begging us ‘not to die and let them suffer alone’.. they take time to accept change..

Logic did not work.. Making them drink all traditional immunity boosters did not change mind-set.. agitation, crying for no reason and sad faces staring into oblivion became regular … Peace seemed totally lost..

Games and stories and art did some amount of magic.. I cooked up stories about imaginary characters who survived pandemics that affected the world in the past.. asked them to do the same.. we tried making funny endings..

Like the old partially blind lady who made some magic concoction accidentally and became rich as it treated the illness and so on..

Then we often draw and paint the changes we see and expect to see in the world as the effect of pandemic.. my older one calls himself a solo wanderer and he painted himself reading a book under tree in solitude happily.. younger one has been drawing green parks and happy roads..

Necessity is the mother of all.. more so for a mother..

The need to be calm from inside

#lifewithgifted #higerIQ #emotions #innerpeace #spiritualhealth #giftedkids #hope

Many at times I see my kids struggling to understand and express their emotions.. especially my older one.. he is very sensitive to nature including plants and bugs.. he feels pain when he hears or gets to see even the slightest damage.. the anger, frustration and highly charged state of mind are difficult to handle.. he thinks after he talks and ends up feeling guilty.. things go out control soon.. emotional intensity is more..

I have been trying to calm him with whatever material I get to read to him.. but this time I gave the responsibility to him.. I asked him to find his way to a good spiritual health.. provided him some options and he choose a Bhagawat Gita discourse.. as he chose it he had higher sense of responsibility to attend it everyday.. with every discourse I saw him digging deeper and understanding better.. yes there were days when he found so many faults within him and wept.. but then he understood that learning from mistakes are important and no one can be perfect.. he is able to find the actual cause for his anger.. he is able to forgive more easily than before.. he doesn’t harbour the guilt.. he is able to breathe better through his frustrations.. he is more calm as a person now.. he is trying to think and talk.. he has more respect for all.. he is finding a God who is his friend to confide in and not a power to fear of.. he has hope that God will hold his fingers through tough times and listen to him.. he has hope that God will shop him the path through someone when needed.. he has started beliving that ‘ whatever happens happens for good’ . There is a long way to go but the change has began in a constructive way..

Whatever may be the religion a strong belief in the creator helps.. the gifted need it more to calm themselves and accept themselves..

Teach your child to avoid toxic relationships and the fun of solitude too..

Let them know to enjoy both.. ( all pictures are my own)

As my son always had minimal friends he and me used to really try holding on to the few he had.. because I was told socialization is very important.. there was this kid few years older to mine.. my son found him to be interesting and this kid allowed him to play with him too.. so we held on to him.. I would get small gifts and make treats for him too.. slowly as their relationship progressed this child started verbally abusing.. when my child complained I told mine, “may be he was having a bad day just forget it” ,” step into his shoe and see”,” may be he is going through a rough patch” and yes his family was going through tough times.. but one day my child came home all dirty and with shoe sole marks on face.. I first washed him up and asked the extremely upset child but he would not tell me.. after a few hugs in silence he told me his friend had beaten him up but he also said ” amma may be he is going through tough times”.. red lights started showing up in my brain but I did not know how to handle it.. I thought through a lot and felt I was telling my child to live in a toxic situation just because he hardly had friends.. I took time to rehearse what I wanted to say and then spoke to my baby ,” see he may be going through a though time but that doesn’t give him any right to inflict damage on anyone.. he can’t transfer his anger on someone else.. just because he is the only friend you have it doesn’t mean you are not good.. we can have loads of fun exploring things by ourselves too.. the next time he calls you to play I give the choice to go or not to go.. but if you choose to go, the moment he starts behaving bad tell him you have work and come back.. don’t let him persuade you.. let him know you don’t approve of his behaviour.. play close by so that if you need help you can give a shout out to me.. got it?” I know he felt a lot safer and he did go to play after a few days but followed what I said.. and slowly I saw him wean off from that friendship as he realised he wasn’t happy in it.. he is learning with every friend.. he is learning to love solitude too.. #gifted #life #lifewithgifted