mindfulness - Everyday Mindfulness

Dear UU Parents and Guardians, 

It would be lovely if you could join us for our weekly gatherings! 
Here is what is currently being offered: 

Sunday School 
THIS WEEK IS DRAG QUEEN STORY HOUR!!!!
Approximately: 30 Min Program geared towards K-5 but open to all ages
Sundays at 11am
Email me for the link

Middle and HS Zoom 
Monday nights 6pm:  
Email me for the link

Parent and Guardian Chat: 
The chance for parents and guardians to just get together and
Every other Thursday 8pm and every other Wednesday noon

Thursday the 28th 8pm
      Link: https://zoom.us/j/866583131     Password: lovemykids
 Wednesday the 3rd at noon
      Link: https://zoom.us/j/474526337     Password: lovemykids

New Youtube links for this week!

Story with Ms Alexa: https://youtu.be/Hgr0q9pYcwk

Story with Miss Heather: https://youtu.be/CvgiPEtQHJQ

Music with Miss Molly:     https://youtu.be/Ga46NrKWrPw

Weekly Message for Parents and Guardians
Theme this week:
Everyday Mindfulness

Chelsea's Meditation: https://youtu.be/VmI2KqTQv8g

The meditation lessons which I am doing are geared towards K-5th graders, but everyone is welcome to them. 
The theme for my lesson this week was: Everyday Mindfulness

I read the book: 'Each Breath a Smile'
I do a meditation with pebbles

Reflection:
This week, a family member had an emergency appendectomy. My computer crashed after an icky automatic Windows upgrade. I was in the middle of doing my taxes. My taxes kept saving in places prior to where I had already entered information (I think I entered my driver's license number ten times...) My baby spilled a whole container of blueberries all over the kitchen floor. My 3 year-old was digging in the garden and knocked the baby with a shovel upside the head. (He's fine). My 3 year-old may have broken her collar bone AGAIN for the 2nd time this year...there's nothing that can be done, so we aren't even going in for x-rays. My 5 year-old asks for snacks every 20 minutes even when other food is available to him. It was a week that certainly tested my patience. Yet...what could I really do about any of this? I breathed. I breathed again. I took MANY long, deep, bottom-of-the-belly breaths. Over and over and over. Taking a moment to step back and just breathe really does take PRACTICE. Being mindful can sometimes just be in that MOMENT. Yet, we need to remind our brains that instead of getting worked up, breathing, or stepping back for a moment is what we should do. I got through this week, clearly. Here I sit on a lovely rainy day with my cup of tea...and all will be well. When we feel so helpless, breathing really does help. It centers us. It reminds us: I am here. Now. It reminds us of that which we CAN control. So, dear fellow parents, when your child refuses to go to nap, or asks for a that Frozen song for the tenth time today...breathe. This too shall pass. 

Discussion questions to consider this week: 

1. Is there something that happens regularly in your day where you find yourself stressed out and needing to breathe more? Is there something which you can do to adjust that recurring event to make it better?
2. What else in your life has taken practice for you to master? An instrument? A sport? A dance routine? Learning how to play chess? Do you find it challenging to take a step back and breathe? Why is this? 
3. What are some simple gifts of ordinary things in your life that you could pause to focus on for a brief meditation? A seashell collected on a vacation to reflect upon your time there? A photo of a loved one? Time spent petting your dog or cat? How about for your children?

Words by Sumi Loundon Kim:
The meditation has been more actively directed in nature. But it is also possible to practice in an undirected way, simply sitting with open awareness and being mindful of whatever arises and passes away as it is happening. A helpful way to frame this is that rather than 'doing' meditation, one is 'being' meditation (the often repeated phrase is that we are not human DOINGS but human BEINGS). I find this meditation useful when I am restless. I simply stop, breathe, and be. This meditation is helpful for letting go of outcomes generally, and for reducing striving and perfectionism around meditation itself.