Being ourselves, children too
I’m on a theme at the moment, about being ourselves and doing what makes us happy, reaping the benefits of a fulfilling, purposeful and rewarding life, but also being the architect - the shaper - of our life.
I was grateful then to stumble across the quote, shared below, from Dr Edward Bach who created the Bach Flower Remedies; a well respected system of healing that has been used world-wide since being established in 1932 - many of you have used the remedies when having treatments with me or during Reiki courses.
Dr Bach was a Harley `street physician of very high regard, and was dedicated to finding system of healing that would be safe and free from side-effects. He became increasingly convinced that a new system of healing lay within Nature, one which would bring about natural equilibrium and heal the conflict between body, mind and spirit. He strongly believed that it was this conflict was the true cause of physical and mental disharmony and relieved by treating the person rather than the disease.
This caused him to leave his medical work in 1930 and search for healing plants in the countryside. Here he discovered 38 harmless remedies, each prepared from a different plant, except for one which is prepared from water of a natural healing spring. Each remedy is for a different emotion, mood or personality.
His quote below, explains how a child’s innocence, if left undisturbed, will blossom and generate all the positive aspects of life, but how, in contrast, that uninhibited freedom and true sense of purpose can so easily be stopped or stifled in the face of negativity and/or control.
I truly believe that happiness - which is not necessarily a constant state btw - means living our own life, true to our own convictions. Doing what other people tell us to do, or living and working according to someone else’s expectations and desires of us, means we live their life, not our own. And just like a child who loses interest in her painting, life itself may become dull and uninteresting, and as a result, our health and happiness can suffer.
I see this increasingly in my work. I am privileged to work with a number of children who visit me for Reiki, and I am conscious that so many are suffering because of the expectations placed on them, whether that be from school, society, or indeed parents and caregivers. It is a delight to meet them as they are, in all their innocence and love, talking about their life and their interests, and to watch them enjoy choosing their own crystal and animal card.
What I wish for them the most - my boys too - is freedom to be themselves, not having to confirm or fit a box just because others say so. For parents this is tough, as often they are living the way they have been taught to live, with all the various conditioning that dictates this. In many ways, it is an opportunity for parents to take their power back too, and find another way to live, truer to themselves, by allowing the soul of the child to guide the way forward.
Certainly my boys have been changing me and helping me to let go of my conditioning around education and all the fear that accompanies this re exams especially (this is the main concern people have when talking to us about home schooling as if exams are the be all and end all of life - certainly they seem to stress most children and parents out, it’s funny to imagine a world where ‘exams’ wasn’t even a word), but also in terms of trusting that their soul knows what they are here to do and how to experience that.
The more I have let them be themselves, the more they have thrived after the terror, anxiety and stress of school, and the more I have been able to also allow myself to be myself, caring increasing less what others think and caring more about my heart and soul and doing what I love instead.
Life is short. I was reminded of this with the death of my friend Em in December and Marie, almost four years ago now, and how we are not necessarily here into old age, and it is arrogant of us to believe this is the case. We are here for the time our soul needs to be here for whatever it needs to experience in this life time. Spending our life living unhappily just to meet the demands of others seems such a waste of our life.
“Do what you love” is my mantra these days. but I appreciate this is not easy and does require that we break down everything which gets in the way of this, generally our mind and all it’s various programmings and expectations of how it should be, rather than accepting reality and ourselves exactly as we are, in this moment, if only we knew the truth of who we are, beyond what we have become.
This is the joy of spiritual practice, yoga, Reiki, they help to bring us back to the truth of ourselves. This isn’t about title or income, but about our true essence beyond roles and labels.
You’ll understand more what I mean by reading this quote and can possibly relate to it yourself:
“A small child has decided to paint the picture of a house in time for a mother’s birthday. In her little mind the house is already painted, she knows what it is to be like down to the very smallest detail, there remains only to put it on paper. To the best of her ability she has put her idea of a house into form. It is a work of art because it is all her very own, every stroke done out of love for her mother, every window, every door painted in with the conviction that it is meant to be here. Even if it looks like a haystack, it is the most perfect house that has ever been painted; it is a success because the little artist has put her whole heart and soul, her whole being into doing it. This is health, this is success and happiness and true service. Serving through love in perfect freedom in her own way.
If however, someone came along and said “why not put a window here and a door there; and of course the garden path should go this way”, the result in the child will be complete loss of interest in the work; she may become cross, irritated, unhappy, afraid to refuse these suggestions; begin to hate the picture and perhaps tear it up; in fact according to the type of child, so will be the reaction. The final picture may be a recognisable house, but it is an imperfect one and a failure because it is the interpretation of another’s thoughts, not the child’s. This is disease, the reaction to interference. This is temporary failure and unhappiness: and this occurs when we allow others to interfere with our purpose in life and implant in our minds doubt, or fear, or indifference”
Edward Bach
Love Emma x
