An article that I return to often is from Parade Magazine a few years ago. The Dog Whisperer, Cesar Millan, succintly states many of the tenets of our workshop series in his article, "What Your Pet Can Teach You." I especially appreciate his first point- "Live in the moment" and his fifth point, "Learn to listen." I thought I'd pass a link to the article along to you all. If you get a minute I think you'd enjoy reading it. I think it has some good thoughts on our interactions, both with our children as well as the the people we encounter in our lives.
http://www.parade.com/pets/articles/090111-dog-whisperer.html
Thursday, March 13, 2014
Thursday, January 31, 2013
Now that you've heard about the importance of rountine, a word about being flexible...
It seems to me, that the idea of flexibility implies the idea of routine. We don't have opportunities to be flexible and vary from a routine unless we have a routine in the first place. Not having a routine, doesn't equal flexibility, it equals chaos.
One way to think about our ability to be flexible is to imagine yourself driving in a strange town, on a strange freeway: Radio is off, all eyes are on the road, hands at 10 and 2... where are we?! No time for chit chat or goofing around! Where are we going?!
Then think of the way you are when you are driving on your commute to work: Radio on, possible chit chat with passengers, a quick fix of your hair in the mirror... relaxed and ready for a quick stop at that new coffee shop!
This is how I think of routine. When we don't know what to expect, it's hands at 10 and 2 and no talking! If we are doing what we always do, we have time and energy for another book, another song, maybe even a pillow fight. Routine frees us up to savor the moments, not fight over details.
One way to think about our ability to be flexible is to imagine yourself driving in a strange town, on a strange freeway: Radio is off, all eyes are on the road, hands at 10 and 2... where are we?! No time for chit chat or goofing around! Where are we going?!
Then think of the way you are when you are driving on your commute to work: Radio on, possible chit chat with passengers, a quick fix of your hair in the mirror... relaxed and ready for a quick stop at that new coffee shop!
This is how I think of routine. When we don't know what to expect, it's hands at 10 and 2 and no talking! If we are doing what we always do, we have time and energy for another book, another song, maybe even a pillow fight. Routine frees us up to savor the moments, not fight over details.
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