This Work is Sacred
Yesterday I read this story, a traveler arrives in Paris during the Middle Ages when the Cathedral of Notre Dame is being built. He stops and asks two stone workers what they are doing. The first one responds that he is squaring out a stone. The second one, who is doing the exact same thing, replies, "I am building a cathedral."
I once spent a week in Guatemala working with cinderblocks. It was tough. The kind of work where nose to the grindstone, mind on the task, you can easily lose sight of the outcome. Oh right, I’m building a home!
Similar to parenting, where the often mundane labor of feeding, clothing, guiding, playing, and engaging can be exhausting to both body and spirit. We can get so focused on the day to day that we forget the big picture.
Here’s a reminder: Each and every small and big connection you exchange with your child is contributing to the development of a healthy, whole, engaged, loving, inspired, resilient being on the planet.
It may not feel like it in the moment but with each engagement, you are contributing to the download of a program into your child’s subconscious. Especially between the ages of 0-6 children’s brainwave states are in full absorption mode, taking in data from the environment that will assist them to understand the world going forward. First and foremost they absorb from us.
Is this place safe? Will I be accepted in my wholeness or do I need to keep some expressions under wraps? Can those around me handle my big feelings? Is there room here to be my true self?
These are the big subconscious questions being asked and answered during early childhood.
And the thing about subconscious programming is it becomes the guidance map. As they grow our kids naturally engage with others the way they’ve been engaged with. If your approach at home is connection based, there’s will be too. If you honor and value emotional processing, they will too.
Not only that, but if someday your kids raise their own kids the program they downloaded with you will be the program they default to and pass on to their kids, and so on and so on. It’s entirely possible that the mindful attention you give to your child today will one day ripple out to positively impact your great grandkids.
So keep that in mind the next time you’re “squaring out a stone”, or supporting a child to put on their socks, or listening to their latest gaming feat, or honoring their big feelings. You’re guiding the development of something big, sacred and amazing!
Quick news this month is that my study-at-your-own-pace course, EQ Parent Lab continues to be open for enrollment!
One update is that I’m now including two 30 minute one-on-one consultations with yours truly when you enroll. This is a great way to get deeper support applying the course content into your specific family situation.
This course came through earlier this year. I essentially birthed the program (a 3-month labor of love), journeyed through it with the first cohort and then jumped into other new projects. Recently I re-listened to the first module and was reminded of the deep value of its content. Knowing that it truly came through me from higher guidance makes that easy to say.
When it comes to EQ Parent Lab I feel like one of those airport flaggers pointing the way with my bright orange flags – “Over here, this is the path out of conflict into connection.”
Actually, I don’t believe there’s a “wrong” way, but there are lots of long ways. This course cuts to the chase and streamlines family dynamics and patterns to align with your parenting aspirations. Thanks for checking it out and sharing the opportunity with other like-minded parents!
With crisp autumn love,
Karen
