when we fill our children’s lives with countless activities or artificial
trinkets, we rob them of their imagination, and hence of their ability to
create their own pleasure.
When we empty our life of clutter, noise, and distractions, prioritizing
our schedule around the creation of space, we open the way for vital
experiences. For instance, we gaze at a beautiful sunset and it almost
takes our breath away. Unable to take our eyes off the ever-changing
rainbow of colors, we find ourselves at a loss for words. So present are
we with the experience, all urgency to “do” is surrendered, replaced by
awe and a transcendent awareness of our connection to all of reality.
At such a moment, there’s no room for hatred, hostility, or a critical
attitude, which are swallowed up in the serenity of the vast expanse
before us. Completely in our body, yet in a heightened state of
consciousness, we are enjoying a foretaste of what it means to truly enter
into our experiences.BACK TO BASICS
One of the easiest things to do to help our children return to their innate
fluidity is to reduce the amount of television or other forms of screen
time. I’m not suggesting that television or computers are bad for our
children, only questioning the role they play in their everyday life.
There’s a world of difference between allowing our children to enjoy
cartoons, shows, or games (especially at weekends) for leisure, and
resorting to these things to distract us from being with ourselves. If a
screen is used to comfort restlessness or boredom, our children learn to
be dependent on external aids to allay their anxiety.