I haven’t been writing much lately for two factors I think. One, I have been very busy with work, school, my gardens/yard, family, and friends. Two, life has been very very good. Not many triggers bringing back the unhappy times, which often drives me to share how I overcame them.

I work in a pre-school centre with children from two to five. Being semiretired I only work four hours in the afternoon. I get to play. I get to help children find happy. They get excited every day to see me. I get lots of hugs, love yous, and the best conversations.

These children struggle to understand strong emotions like anger, loss, and feeling alone. They are learning how to deal positively when someone doesn’t want to play with them. When someone has something they want. When they don’t want to go where a person of authority tells them to go.

How many of us are still struggling with these issues at 30,40,50,60,and older? Finding the tools to help us cope with the daily struggles in life, never mind serious trauma or crisis, is hard. Frustrations accumulate. Why can’t it just go right???

My children and I came from homes of trauma. We learned to deal with anger, cruelty, arguments, and basic emotional survival. We are all extraordinary problem solvers. But if you grew up on the Good Ship Lollipop, you have no skills to prepare you for conflict resolution. A whole other blog post topic.

I have discovered that much of my happiness is due to staying calm and thinking. As soon as my mind settles and I can think, solutions come quickly. With solutions and plans come a stress free life. Often the solution is to just let go of it. Leave it behind and forget about it.

The meditation really does it for me. It’s not hokum or hokey spokey gibberish. It is a method to calm and clear the mind to think. Like the big signs in the 70’s said: THINK

May I be safe. May I be healthy. May I be happy. May I live with ease.