Being Present. Way More Fun Than Stress!

Yesterday I had one of those crazy mom days; one of those days that I had to have two kids in three places at the same time. Do you know those days? My nine year old was testing for his recommended black belt in tae kwon do. I, a new student, was testing for my first belt. My fourteen your old son was performing in the school play. I was working concessions there. Somewhere before or after or in between, I had to get the kids fed and change my clothes (you know this drill right?). And thrown in for good measure, my older son's best friend showed up in the mix to join us.

I became aware in the midst of this chaos that so often we get overwhelmed by the logistics that we miss the magic in these moments. The human condition often makes us focus on the doing; and doing perfectly rather than just showing up with all of our shortcomings and flaws and just doing the best we can. This is where we lose the golden opportunities!!! What if we can just let that go??

​Once I realized my own reaction to this stress, I could let it go and was able to enjoy the really fun, crazy moments and experiences like sparring with my 9 year old and being given permission to kick him 😀, and watching all these other kids pour their heart and souls into their belt tests. They demonstrated so much heart, perseverance and indomitable spirit. Fast forward to the high school. The cast and crew of this show demonstrated the very same qualities. I was overwhelmed by their enthusaism and their ability to show up in such a huge way (and these are teenagers!!!). So big lesson for this day for me is to show up, be present and do the best I can. All the rest will be magical if I do.