The Ultimate Spiritual Practice for Parents of Little Ones
Wisdom from Eckhart Tolle
Parenting isn’t easy.
Your children can get to you. Even when you’re doing your best, trying to be the best parent in the world, they can and will push your buttons every now and then.
You are triggered. Your kid’s action (e.g., throwing a tantrum) becomes a source of anxiety.
But you have to remember it’s not them causing your anxiety. It’s you.
You cause your feeling of anxiety.
Your child is simply behaving a certain way, but you react by becoming angry, stressed, frustrated, etc. Your reaction will then fuel more of your child’s negative actions. It might be more screaming, more crying, more tantrums.
Remember, children are more in tune with energy than words and language. When they sense your nervous energy, they react with more of the very thing driving you crazy.
They aren’t doing it to make things worse. They are frustrated and nervous too. They don’t know how to control or make sense of their feelings and thoughts, and you getting angry isn’t helping.
So what do you do?
You let it be. Accept the current situation. If your daughter is screaming, accept that she is now screaming.
Simply be the space for your child’s feelings. Be present with the moment. Accept it as it is.
Accept it and be at peace with it. Your child will sense your calm energy, and they will feel safe — eventually calming her down.
Make this your spiritual practice.
“It’s far better than going to a monastery and meditating all day long. It’s far more effective.” — Eckhart Tolle
If you can be in that place of acceptance, calm, and presence at that moment your child is throwing a tantrum, then you are on the path of enlightenment.