Many of us
find ourselves in front of a cash register one or more times a day.
Perhaps it is while grocery shopping. It may be when paying
for a meal at a restaurant. On those occasions when we
use cash, a wonderful opportunity for mindful parenting presents itself.
While
the exchange of money quickly becomes a largely automatic and
mindless process, the faces of the presidents on coins and paper
currency can serve as easy reminders of your child.
Today,
when you reach into your purse or pocket for change, or receive money
from another person, before you hand it over in payment, or put
it away, take a moment and look at it. On it you see
one of the president's faces -- maybe it is Washington, Jefferson,
Lincoln, Jackson, or Grant. Open awareness and imagine
your child's face smiling at you. Imagine what your child is
doing right then, wherever he or she may be.
It only takes a
split second to bring awareness to your child. Your hands don't have
to slow down. No one need wait. When you become mindful
of your child and his or her presence in the cosmos, a greater spaciousness
will fill the moment.
A few minutes later you may be back in
your car, or on your way to another errand, business meeting, or to
the office or home. Wherever you are, by having opened awareness
to your child, you have expanded your connection to your child, and
through such connection, feelings of joy and bliss emerge.
