This morning my son and I were practicing baseball in the front yard. At the end of the school year he had decided in his mind that he was ready to try all of the sports that he had been avoiding. Excited by this prospect, we gathered together sports equipment for him to try out. On this day, after swinging and missing a couple of balls he dejectedly tossed the bat to the ground and said, ‘I’m horrible! I’lll never get it!’
Hmmmm…. What to do?
One of the many things I love about my son is that he is an incredible goofball. Even when he was in the throws of his stomach bug over the weekend he asked if we could watch funny cat videos together. It was a beautiful remedy for the moment with tons of good belly laughs despite his discomfort. Often things come to him when offered in a more lighthearted way. So, I urged him to take a break and come over to look at some silly pictures in my phone’s photo album. At the end of the sequence of photos he saw the picture above and asked what it was and why there were so many smiley faces. I told him that it was a blade of grass put under a microscope. I added that the cells in the grass were smiling because the sun and rain were helping it to grow.
I turned to him and said, “Kai, we can be happy like that grass. Let’s help ourselves to grow and tell ourselves that we can do anything we set our focus on. Focus your eye on the ball and let’s enjoy being out here”. What came next was goofy banter and jokes about smiling grass. What also followed were swings and misses without the critic of before. As we kept playing he found his timing and rhythm and began to connect more and more with the ball.Kiddo, adults, and blades of grass alike, we all succumb to putting ourselves under the microscope from time to time. Let’s continue to practice supporting ourselves and one another with kind word and gentle humor both on and off the mat.
We are overjoyed to offer you so many opportunities to connect, find your edge, and feel for your gentleness with our growing family of teachers.
Our aim is to support and grow beside you with humanity and humor.
We look forward to seeing you soon.
You’ve got this!
xoxo-
Sharon & your friends at TYC
“Every blade of grass has its Angel that bends over it and whispers, “Grow, grow.”
– The Talmud”