Be Your Own Mom

Be your own mom

Your Own Yoda and

Jiminy Cricket (Pinocchio's 'conscience')

I realized today when I was eating blueberry waffles that a lot of what I was writing the other day was centered around what is essentially 'good mom advice': eat your fruits and vegetables, take your vitamins, go outside for some fresh air, get more exercise, drink water, and always do your best and try to do the right thing. Most parents try to give their kids most of this advice, and make sure that they help you learn to take care of yourself. But that's not always the case and if it is, it's not always consistent, so you might have a memory of it, but not a lifetime routine that you carried on once you grew up. So a lot of us have to live by trial and error and learn on our own what to do and how to do it. And...a lot of us are better at that for whatever reasons of intelligence or self-preservation.

I have been told by more than a few people over many years, mostly adults at work or school, that I need to learn things the hard way. The first time I remember hearing it I was like, what do you mean? Well, if there's a simple way and a more challenging way you will take the latter. You will do the thing that takes more effort from you to try and achieve the same result. You will stress out and over analyze and become anxious over a thing that needs to be done, or is going to happen anyway, with or without your worrisome thoughts and behaviors. This is one of the biggest reasons in my mind that begs for parents and schools to teach meditation. 

There is epidemic anxiety and depression in young adults that could be greatly helped if as kids we were all peacefully instructed in how to use some basic techniques to calm down. Nobody, I don't think, likes to be instructed to calm down when they are freaking out. When you are in the middle of it, that's not really helpful. It might help though, if you could do it for yourself, if you had that ability in your personal mind repertoire. Some mantra, repeated calming words, and mental images along with slow deep breathing is all you need. Learning to be your own mom is a long journey of self-discovery, improved awareness and increasingly better self-care. Do one thing today. Eat some spinach! Or if you don't like spinach, do a guided meditation video. If you know someone that lives in another state, find their address and write them a note. Go for a walk to the post office to mail it.