You’ve probably had an experience where you’ve gone to dinner at a restaurant, only to have your pleasant evening interrupted by a youngster happily tearing all over the place.
He or she is clearly living in the moment and experiencing great joy. You however, aren’t enjoying their exuberance.
So what’s the right course of action?
You know that you’re responsible for your own feelings. It’s impossible for other people to make you be angry or upset. So why’s this child’s behavior in question? Isn’t it your responsibility to raise YOUR vibration?
This of course, is merely an example the conflict experienced between bliss and rules that you’ll experience while raising children. The exact situation will vary and you’ll have plenty of opportunities to practice resolving this conflict.
First, it’ll be important for you to be able to tap into your Internal Guidance System (IGS). Sometimes it can be difficult to be objective as a parent or a bystander in these situations. Your IGS will help you remove yourself a bit from the situation and help you see how others might view it.
Another important factor will be specifics related to your individual children. Knowing who your children are is essential in knowing how to best respond to any given situation. After all, every child is different.
Encouraging your children to follow their bliss doesn’t mean that you should allow them to disrupt the joy of others. This is where your IGS can be so helpful. Your IGS helps you to be empathetic to others, to feel what they’re going through, and that might include irritation over the antics of your children.
There are times where you need to parent your children in order to rein in their exuberance. You can learn ways to channel their energy and you can choose opportunities that allow them to be wild and crazy and yet steer clear of situations where their hyperactivity might be uncomfortable for everyone present.
As a parent, it’s important to remember that your joy is as important as your kids’ joy. You have to learn to put yourself first in this regard. When you allow your children’s happiness to be more important than your own, you actually do them a disservice.
When you’re happy, your children will feel that. When you’re not, they’ll feel that as well. If they’re doing something fun that makes you uncomfortable, they’ll likely pick up on that as well. This’ll cause them to distrust their own IGS and result in children who are disconnected, either lacking in empathy for others or unable to identify what their bliss truly is.
Listen to your Internal Guidance System. It’ll help you to know what the best response in any precise moment is; how to allow your children to follow their joy while you maintain your sanity and respect bystanders as well.
