Sweet Miracles

A myraid of little boy related anecdotes…

I bought some shrimp for making little boy’s porridge (lucky fella huh… he has the best food in the house!). Being the ever helpful boy (or busy body), he came over to offer his assistance when i was taking out the shrimp poop and occasional shrimp shells. He started mushing up the shrimps too, after i washed his hands, and since i was intending to chop up the shrimps for his porridge, that was fine by me. Who knows, after a few minutes, he held up a string of poop to show me. Wow, my boy managed to take out shrimp poop! In my books, that’s just amazing!

He was so encouraged by my enthused gushing, that he continued mushing shrimps and not getting any poop out, and i wasn’t expecting a repeat. Guess what? Moments later, he held up another shrimp poop to give to me. He even peeled out a piece of shell, and called it correctly as he passed to me. He completed his offer of help with some chopping of the shrimp, and that was pretty well done too. Little boy is really my wonderful kitchen helper!

Little boy is also a real peacemaker. Today Mr Gua Gua was pretty miffed at me as i threw away something impt i.e. his gym lock by accident. The moment little boy heard Mr Gua Gua raise his voice at me, he immediately looked at me and said, wait wait, in a way that was both anxious and concerned. So i waited for a few seconds, but then i couldn’t help myself and responded to Mr Gua Gua, telling him I would pay him back, etc. Of cos, being still in an angry state, Mr Gua Gua replied in an annoyed manner. Again, little boy raised his palm at me and ordered me to wait. He also said a whole string of other little boy stuff, which could be babble talk or English words that I could not make up. It sounded like he was giving his two cents’ worth too.

Well, little boy was right. No matter what i said, it would just irk Mr Gua Gua since he was already very upset by my throwing away something belonging to him. It made good sense to just wait for him to cool down! So i sat down, feeling a lil upset. Little boy came to me and half-hugged me in a comforting way. Then he turned to look at Mr Gua Gua who was in the little boy room. I told him that Papa was angry. He went over, touched Mr Gua Gua and spoke a few little boy words to him. Mr Gua Gua pulled him into his arms for a hug and little boy didn’t resist, as he usually would have.

Before the next hour was up, things were back to normal again and it was also in a way thanks to little boy who was also dying to go for gai gai, which the argument got in the way of. He wanted to go to his “garner” - Botanic Gardens - and kept going between Mr Gua Gua and me, asking us to go. It was on the way out that Mr Gua Gua and i made up again, and now i have to find a new lock for Mr Gua Gua!

Well, after the minor tiff, it turns out that today’s Botanic Gardens outing was a gd one. The weather was great, and little boy had great fun throwing bread to the fish, which made huge splashes as they came up to the surface to gobble up the bread. The picnic area was very crowded today, though it was mostly adults and older children. Unfortunately we didn’t bring balls and we didn’t have frisbee. Little boy entertained himself by walking around in our slippers, looking a lil like a penguin waddling around, as Mr Gua Gua and i lazed on our huge groundsheet. Then i suggested that he climbed the nearby tree with the low branch which all the children climb on. During our last time, i took him there and he only watched the children climb, and resisted my attempts to get him on the branch. To my surprise, at my suggestion, he immediately ran off to the tree, and i followed him. Today, he was in an adventurous mood and with some help from me, he managed to climb from the lowest part of the branch right to the end nearest the tree trunk. He wanted to show off to Mr Gua Gua - alas, he was sleeping and too far away to hear us calling him.

Anyway, i was pretty impressed, as he was the smallest kid there, and not all older kids wanted to climb the branch. There were some Malay kids on the other end of the branch and i was simply amazed by their agility and confidence. One boy even managed to climb to the end of one of the thinner branches to sit comfortably between the fork. It’s just abt 3 metres off the ground and he wouldn’t hurt himself even if he fell, but of cos he didn’t. I just cldn’t see how he managed to get there. Later as he made his way back to the main tree branch like a monkey, the position i saw him in was one that i don’t think i would watch little boy take without getting anxious. Even the Malay girl was very confident in moving along the branch. I looked around for their parents and don’t see anyone nearby. Guess their parents have faith that they would be able to take care of themselves.

It’s actually a chicken-and-egg thing. The more faith you have in your children, the more confidence they have in themselves, and vice versa. Of cos, some parents are simply bo-chup, like me, though for some reason i seem to be more protective of little boy recently, and for this attempt on the tree branch, of cos i had to stay close to him as it’s not for kids of his age. But on the other end of the continuum are parents who are over-paranoid about their kids’ safety and constantly remind them to be careful, often times through warnings like, you are going to fall down! Guess they have never heard of self-fulfilling prophecies and the power of suggestion. There was an older girl near the tree branch who decided not to go up the tree cos “I may fall down”.

Well, I may be being judgmental here but I think it’s sad that some parents condition their children to be afraid of falling down, and not to take risks or test their limits, and just stay in the comfort zone. It comes from good intentions perhaps, and also their own conditioning from their own parents, but what kind of lives will their children lead with this kind of “afraid to fall” attitude? A very typical Singaporean life i guess… taking the safe routes that will guarantee meeting of basic needs, maybe even the 5 C’s, and that’s it?

Dinner at Botanic Gardens became a mini-feast because we had to buy different foods to appeal to little boy’s tastebuds - rice with mixed dishes, noodles, roti prata… all didn’t interest little boy much and we thought he was going to go home hungry. I was half wondering, how come all the other kids can sit properly in their chairs and eat their dinner. Guess we are too permissive with little boy in terms of dining ettiquette. In the end, i hit the jackpot with kaya toast bread. Little boy enjoyed all 4 slices and he went home with a round tummy after all. Not the healthiest of meals, and i’m comforting myself with the knowledge that toddlers do need carbs and sugar and fats, and after all that running around today, i’m sure that kaya toast bread was a much needed source of fuel.

On the way home, little boy actually sang a song from childcare for me. “Two by two…” I recognised the song and i echoed the line. To my surprise, he sang the next line on his own “Hold your hand…”. I echoed him again, and he went on “Two by two…”. Then he sang again, hold your hand, and i simply sang the correct version, “I hold you”. Following which, he said, hold hand! And he held up his hand for me to hold. How sweet! Though i don’t know if he is this coorporative in childcare, from the way he still cries during separation time. I asked him in the car, do you miss school? His reply, miss school. Sure hope this is true!

Most of us who are consciously growing spiritually have some tough moments and some difficult days. It can be difficult to see yourself as a light worker when your own well being seems threatened. In these instances it would be helpful to remember the following:

• There is no outside threat. All threats come from within - from the meaning we attach to outside events.
• There is only one Power and you can access it within you. Turn within and ask for help. Pray for help. Ask for guidance and then listen.
• Consciously direct your thoughts. Your mind has 50,000 or more thoughts per day. If you choose to direct a few thousand of those thoughts lovingly toward your vision, you will create it. An excellent metaphor for this comes from a book called Personal Power and Awareness, by Sanaya Roman. “Think of a box which represents what you want. Every time you think [appreciatively] about what you want, the box becomes fuller, and when the critical mass is reached, the box becomes reality. If there is something you think of [appreciatively] over and over, at a certain point it will manifest; how long it takes is based on how much you believe it will come.”
• Honor your lack of belief. Often people want to believe, but find they can’t. This is not a bad thing. You might pray: “Lord, help me with my unbelief.” However, it may be better to honor your lack of belief by finding out what is behind it. Go within and ask for insight on why you are not believing. You may find answers that you do not expect. You cannot force yourself to believe. The harder you push on your unbelief, the harder it will push back. Accept your unbelief and seek first to understand it. It may have something important to teach you.
• Monitor your emotions. Your emotions indicate where your energy is flowing. If you feel bad, your thoughts and feelings are moving away from your vision at that moment. If you are feeling good, you are probably moving toward your vision at that moment. Your body will tell you how you are doing.
• Send love to others. Speak positively to and about others. Sincerely compliment people often. Respond to the needs of others. The most important need most people carry is this: “Treat me as if I am important. Acknowledge me. Respect me. Care about me.” This will lift your energy and theirs.
• Don’t be shy about praying for help. Help is always available. When human help is offered, accept it graciously. When you allow others to help and support you, you honor them and yourself.
• Focus on what you want, not on what you don’t want. Your focus determines where your energy flows. Focusing on problems, worrying, doubt, and being a victim creates more problems. There are no problems in this present moment. There are things you can do something about and things you can’t. Do what you can. Accept what you cannot change. Focus your energy on solutions. Focus on what you want to have happen - a peaceful resolution, a win-win opportunity, the highest good for all concerned. Each time the problem begins to concern you, shift your focus to the solution. The Source within you is your solution. Embrace the ambiguity. Be at peace with it. You don’t have to know how it will all work out. Just know that it will work out. Pay attention to possible ideas for what you can do.
• Live these ideas. Your example will teach others.
• Define your spiritual path and walk it. Do not use it as a weapon against others, but as a means to discipline your own thinking. If you see your path as “the only way”, know that it is the only way for you. Others must choose their own paths. Honor them.
• You are not changing the world; you are changing the way you think about the world. See yourself and others as perfect expressions of God. Where there is poverty, see prosperity. Where there is struggle; see ease. Where there is fear; see love. No doubt people will do things that irritate you. Your irritation can be transformed to appreciation by knowing that all fearful acts are meaningless. Refuse to attach meaning. Speak your truth from a place of deep love and compassion. Forgive the one who has temporarily forgotten that he is a spark of the Divine. Remember it for him. This is what it means to be miracle minded.

You are a light to the world. You are a blessing to those who know you. You are the answer to the prayers of many. You need not play small. You are an expression of God, a spiritual being, a spark of the Divine. As you move forward, know yourself to be prosperous and powerful. You are a radiating center of Love and Light. Remind yourself of this often. When you do, adjust your body language. Walk like a spiritual giant. Carry yourself like a prosperous person. How would you stand? How would you walk, if you knew yourself to be prosperous? Meet and greet others as if you are a very important person. Give them the same level of respect. Let your tone of voice and your choice of words reflect your prosperous thoughts and feelings.

The Ritz Carlton Hotel chain has a saying that guides all of their employees. It is: “We are ladies and gentlemen serving ladies and gentlemen.”

When you sit, sit like a prosperous person. When you converse with others, speak from a point of view as one who is constantly well provided for. This doesn’t mean that you toss out affirmations and little positive sayings to people who are experiencing difficulty. It means that your demeanor is prosperous and secure. It means that you may empathize, but you do not join them in their misery. You hold them in the light. You see them as prosperous and well. You allow them this moment of not knowing who they are, but you remember who they are.

The Ritz Carlton Hotel chain has a saying that guides all of their employees. It is: “We are ladies and gentlemen serving ladies and gentlemen.” This beautiful saying at once lifts up the server and those being served. Create a similar guideline for yourself. “I am a powerful spiritual being serving other powerful spiritual beings.”

Keep reminding yourself of who you are in all that you do. This will make you slow to anger, and quick to forgive. It will make you calm in the midst of seeming trouble. It will make you clear and confident in the midst of ambiguity. It will have you releasing fears and feeling the strength of your love. It will have you being patient, rather than anxious. Trust yourself. Trust the Creative Intelligence. All is well in your life.

For the full article, click here: http://www.cosmiclighthouse.com/sep07/articles/be_a_light?page=0%2C2