Peaceful Parenting

• Remember the little things they love to do, and do them.
  
• Take them by surprise every once and a while, it will make their day.
  
• Breathe in twice when they make you mad, and 5 times when they make you really mad.
  
• Talk to them as if they understand everything, and they will come to understand EVERYTHING.

"Be broad minded,
Whole, without relying
On others."
~ Hongzhi Zhengjue

"Ego has no place in rational discussion. I think it's important as a culture to become more thick-skinned and see things as they are, not as they are in relation to ourselves."

~ Gloredhel (fellow Buddhist homeschooling momma)

I try to step aside in awkward or stressful situations and just "be." Things don't always work out the way I prefer, but this definitely helps me to process and move on.

Next time life tries to slap you in the face, just "be" and see what happens. You will be greatly surprised how much effort it takes to react to a situation versus watching the situation resolve itself naturally.

Life is funny that way, things always seem to work out. Try to stop fighting the process.

That which is loved is always beautiful.
~ Norwegian proverb


I love my garden and have always had a major soft spot for any plants that I may possess. On that note, really, they possess me.

The obsession started as a small child picking weed bouquets for my mother, whom was tragically allergic to them. She had chronic asthma and bronchitis and was allergic to everything under the sun. I don’t think having me around helped, at all.


I have a very compact yard to work with at this house, to my frustration. But I have managed to find a small plot for organic vegetables by moving several trees and tons of ground ivy and I thinkg a million lilies of the valley. I needed to till the top 24" of soil to make it workable and add some new organic topsoil for my own peace of mind. I framed out the plot with stone work and of course threw out my back in the process. But it was all worth every ache and pain. I was so enthralled that I ended up making another small plot right next to the first one, for tomatoes and herbs! As soon as my back recovered that is.

I started everything from seed inside, my dining room looked more like a grow room. About 2 weeks ago I moved all the babies outside, and most of them took pretty well, the last heat snap we had (90 degrees) killed my sweet yellow pear tomatoes though. So at this point I have quite a variety for such a small space: Heirloom steak tomatoes, lemon cucumbers, chinese long beans, shallots, garlic, green onions, butter leaf lettuce, purple basil, sweet basil, thai basil, mint, oregano, cuban oregano, thyme, tri-color sage, liquorice sage, lemon balm, chocolate peppers, pablano peppers, and a row of calendula flowers right done the middle of it all... I used the laws of companion planting this time around, I am curious to see the results.

So far, all the plants are little, but very well loved.

Altruism??


We here in our house are bored with the daily grind but I always try to stir it up a bit ya know, in order to keep what sanity I have. Something as simple as running errands can be a chore, but Mommy stops at the park along the way while the milk gets warm in the trunk. She's so fun! We love you Mommy! Your are the best!

Well little do they know I am not the best, just trying to earn brownie points where ever I can. If they think the world of me, great, the extra effort pays off. They are not aware, as I am not usually, that I am giving them this chance to run free so they are not crazy monkeys when we get home. It is really self-serving, not fun for them as much as it is a relief for me.

I think most actions we do for others are not altruistic, very little is really, if you think about it. Look at all we do in our days here on Earth. What actions can we put aside to become more universally pure in thought? Act on the notion of Dasein. No ego. No self. Only the universal order or chaos, whichever way you see it. No conventions, labels, preconceptions. Be here now. In that I find my purest moments. I strive for this often, don't usually find it in the mundane buzz of daily life.

Think about it - how much of what we do along our path in life is to feed our egos? Do you do the things you do for you, or for the satisfaction of pleasing others? Is the act of pleasing others in reality pleasing you? Do you like making your kids happy so they will behave better for you, or to just make them happy?

I think it would be nice if we truly put ourselves aside for one day (maybe make it a holiday) and we all did nothing but self giving acts. Not something in the name of others to please our own needs, but completely 100% selfless acts. We would all see ourselves in a different light, and have a pure perspective on things the way they really are. As a whole, we would be better people, that would make for a better planet, I think. Or at least it would lend chance to us finding some universal synchronicity.

Be, just be.... try it, you may like it.
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Going with the flow:

A Taoist story tells of an old man who accidentally fell into the river rapids leading to a high and dangerous waterfall. Onlookers feared for his life. Miraculously, he came out alive and unharmed downstream at the bottom of the falls. People asked him how he managed to survive. "I accommodated myself to the water, not the water to me. Without thinking, I allowed myself to be shaped by it. Plunging into the swirl, I came out with the swirl. This is how I survived."