Capturing the essence of childhood

Christmas is a time of wonder, of excitement, of love for family, friends, and all humanity.
During this time, we tend to be more tuned in to the JOY children experience. We are enlivened to the JOY inside of us from childhood, for childhood is a time of wonder, curiosity, and JOY. We are longing for peace. We experience moments of peace, of magic, of wonder in our homes, in our communities and in our hearts.

How do we capture this and bring it forward into our lives as the packaging is cleaned up, the event calendar clears, as we sort through the photos with Santa, with family and friends….

A few months ago, when my daughter first sent me a photograph of my granddaughter with this chicken, I sent it to my artist friend, Deb and asked her “Isn’t this photo just screaming to be painted?” She agreed and I am sharing with you this masterpiece, the result of her incredible talent.

Debra captured this moment of wonder and the true essence of my granddaughter. As I look at this piece, I am reminded of her true essence that is always there, even when she is having a tantrum or defying her mothers’ requests.

As parents, grandparents, family, friends, neighbors, how do we SEE our children?

As a psychiatric mental health nurse caring for children during psychiatric hospitalization, as a school nurse watching children visit the principal in his office, as a mother, friend, and neighbor, I have seen behaviors of children that can be very upsetting and disturbing. My parenting was not perfect. My children were not perfectly behaved. My husband and I did our best as parents and there were times we messed up!

This is not an attempt to get you to believe parenting and child rearing is easy or you could do this perfectly, as this would truly cause you distress. But this is an INVITATION to continue to see the wonder, purity and essence of children in your life. To look past the behaviors they exhibit as they struggle with the confusion of life and the challenges of their mental and physical development. I challenge you to get curious about the feelings and needs behind the behaviors.

As I teach and remind my clients, in mental health, behaviors are symptoms of what is going inside of a person, behaviors reflect the person’s internal world. As we observe our own and others’ actions and reactions, we can see, if we choose to observe, is it chaotic or peaceful?

Rather than judge yourself, the child or the parent, we can ask, how were this child’s needs nurtured or not?

We can be the change… BE the person that sees and understands that there is more to this person, this child, this parent, or friend, that is behind the behaviors. We can choose to SEE the essence of the person, as Debi did in this beautiful painting. We can respond with open heartedness and respond with the love and peace in our hearts, that IS there.

This is my belief and my hope for all of us:
May we respond to the true essence of who we are, to transform our world and live in peace.
May Christ live in all of us, at Christmas and always.