December 11, 2017
What are some goals that we can set for personal and collective growth this year?
1) I think that meditation/prayer is a unique human need to balance and calm the modern monkey mind of negativity and self doubt. The world will not get less complex or easier from a stress perspective. Let us teach our kids how to balance at young ages.
2) Let us spend much time teaching our children to see the individual first and not the peripheral biased opinions of color, creed or gender.
Expect people to be good until they prove you right or wrong. Make it a point to be nice to anyone who is unlike you. Make others feel accepted. That pay it forward attitude can only grow.
3) Keep working hard on your families eating habits with the goal of moving towards a whole food, limited refined foods organic local farm fresh diet. Read Michal Pollan's Food Rules.
4) Exercise as a family daily. Family walks are a favorite in our house as it offers collective conversation, movement and unity all at once.
5) Say you are sorry when you mess up! Let your kids know that you are human. Perfection is unattainable and anxiety over it is unnecessary. Parenting is very very difficult for me and I am supposed to be an expert! Do your best and love yourself and your kids daily, especially in the storm.
6) Read as a family every night!. Try to keep screens off during the school week. Sunday night at 5 until Friday night at 5 is a 120 hour period of family time uninterrupted by the screen babysitter. Please do not bring your phone, ipad or other device to the dinner table ever! It hurts me to see kids on screens at dinner siloed in their lost world of useless games.
7) Consider joining a mission trip, community or church giving experience to teach your family the act of giving and living with others regardless of who they are.
8) Aim to sleep in adequate amounts nightly. Consider melatonin if you have trouble falling asleep. Avoid screens at night.
9) Spend time with an elder person to tap their wisdom, exchange conversant energy and be a part of their life.
10) Keep setting goals and aiming higher overtime. You are worth a moon shot every year!
Dr. M
