The Conscious Parent

exhilarating. Why, then, when it comes to relationships or events in our
life are we unable to simply go with them? Life isn’t inherently good or
bad, but like the waves of the ocean just is. The only way to live life is to
enter into its as-is-ness. If we are able to sit with the as-is-ness, then our
anxiety will wash over us. It’s when we react that we turn it into a
tsunami.
Peter’s anxiety caused him to engage in daily confrontation with his
son. Such confrontation escalated into fights, then into a truly regrettable
and avoidable event. Had Peter engaged Andrew in a neutral state of
mind, flowing with the as is nature of the situation, seeking an authentic
connection with his son, Andrew would have responded differently. This
would have placed him in a position to have a measure of influence,
perhaps enabling him to mitigate some of his negative behavior. Instead,
he left Andrew no choice but to become highly reactive.
No one wins when we come from our unconscious reactive state.
Emotional drama can only lead to suffering. So much of our pain is self-
created. Unless we learn to break free from our negative interpretations,
we will forever be mired in one destructive emotional pattern after
another.
The good news is that life is a wonderfully willing partner in our
journey into a more conscious way of being. It assists us on every level,
and all we have to do is open ourselves up and receive. A big plus is that
our children are infinitely resilient. As we take this journey, we can be
assured that they will grow alongside our growth, even when the road to
growth is full of pain. Knowing this allows us to commit ourselves to the
journey without hesitation, holding nothing back, trusting that all things