If you have attended any birthday parties as a child/aunt/uncle/parent chances are you would have played 'Musical Chairs'. We played it recently but with a twist on the traditional game where everyone is a winner or everyone a loser.
The chairs keep reducing after each round, but there should be no one standing. What would happen when there is just one chair left?
Qualitatively and Quantitatively, we know children are getting distanced from nature.
But should that be a concern?
Should our children feel connected to the natural world? Should they have a sense of belonging to their environment?
Should they understand that they are part of a larger ecosystem?
Is a change required?
Is it a change worth making?
Have you ever put your ears on a tree and listened to what it has to say? Sarah has and the trees speak with her...
An old friend and I reconnected over coffee and a conversation on parenting, education, and farming. Being on the intersection of all, I feel all of them blend into each other beautifully!
Inspired from Gandhi ji's book 'Be The Change'; we recently facilitated a 'tree of violence' activity with children. Just as it was in the activity when it was done decades ago, our tree was also heavier on the passive violence side.
While physical violence is easy to identify and address, it is passive violence that we need to be very aware of.
"Wait mumma, wait" With these three simple words, my 1 year-old daughter has helped me see the joy in taking things slow again.
How can I learn and nurture this practice of deep observation which comes so naturally to my 1 year old daughter. Her curiosity brings in this acute awareness of surrounding which I have lost in the process of growing up.
Can I be okay in ‘not knowing’ and thus keep my wonder for what am I going to discover today, alive?
Hope and courage are the two things I pray for daily in my practice. Courage to face the realities of my circumstances now, and hope in humanity, hope in present and hope of future. I choose to step into each moment with an intention to strengthen my hope muscle!
I often (all the time!) complaint about the heat. And then I find myself dunking my teeth into a sweet mango and realize that this mango won't be so sweet if it wasn't so hot. It led me to think that most often the source of joy and of despair is mostly the same! Something to ponder upon.
No heat. No mangoes!
“the sensational draws our attention, but if we deepen our awareness, the ordinary is every bit extraordinary.”