Honouring the Journey

With this beautiful Spring weather upon us, I began thinking about how Mother Earth is awakening from her slumber and in doing so, many wondrous friends from the plant and animal worlds are shyly peeking out at us, getting ready to show us their magnificence. And even though we know for sure that Spring arrives every single year, this beautiful display of rebirth and return never gets old. Each year, Mother Earth, the plants, trees, grass, and all our animal creature friends give each other what they need, and in doing so, exemplify symbiosis at its best. The plants' roots stretch ever deeper into the soil giving the plant or tree strength, stability and durability during challenging times. Animals gamely makes nests, emerge from burrows and procreate to ensure the continuation of their respective species. When the wind is up, rain a bit sparse, or nests are found by unsuspecting predators, these amazing life forms can adapt and survive. This is what we parents do for our children. We ground their roots, give them courage and confidence, we honour their journey without attaching our own to it, we listen more and talk less, and we endeavour to be present, fully present to their hopes, their dreams, their ideas, and their worries. But have you noticed how Mother Earth does not attempt to save every single creature from unfortunate circumstances? She simply can't and besides, she knows in her wisdom that every life being has its own journey. Once again we have so much to learn from our collective Mother; she is so very wise. We must remember that we don't own our children; they are not "ours". They merely pass through us during their time on Mother Earth. We cannot save our children from anything, anyway. Oh, sure we can guide them, we can share our viewpoints with them, we can ask questions, and we can even agree to disagree. But if we want our children to keep coming back to us, like Spring comes back each year, we must promise to give our children what they want from us, and not what we think they need. If the foundation of the relationship is strong, we can feel safe watching our children venture out, confidently, into the world where it awaits them with possibilities we cannot even begin to imagine! And if we've done our work, they will come back to us, like the Spring, with the most magnificent stories to share.

Christine Marrin is the owner of, "Christine Marrin~Spiritual Parenting". She is a former elementary teacher and has relished her role as mom for almost ten years. She has realized that her most profound learning has been at the hands of her children. Walking beside them and sharing their journies has been spiritually fulfilling in a way she never imagined. For more information on Spiritual Parenting, she can be reached at 905-836-6877 or www.facebook.com/christinemarrinspiritualparenting