and closure from the teacher involved in the incident. My daughter had a little cry, admitted that she was more disappointed than she had let on, and was back to her old cheerful self within a few hours.
Create Peace 8 Calming and Centering Practices By Christina Katz
W
hat the world needs now is peace, sweet peace. As families, it’s time to activate our potential as peacekeepers. Here are eight ideas to get you started.
1. Guard against media overload. Monitor family media exposure, especially during times of scary news broadcasts or upsetting continual updates. Turn off televisions and radios when children are around. Get kids off the Internet and away from hand-held devices. Silence your cell phone notifications. Tumultuous times are a good opportunity to revert to old-fashioned fun, such as reading a book, playing a board game, or going for a family walk. 2. Cultivate family peace practices. When my daughter is upset or agitated, her go-to calming activity is a nice warm shower or bath. 16 MendoLakeFamilyLife
Find practices that work for each family member. One child may prefer to read a book while another may wish to do something physical to get grounded. 3. Process disappointments as they happen. Your child may experience a loss, and you may not be aware of it. My daughter seemed to be displaying uncharacteristic behavior until I was able to trace the source of it back to a recent disappointment she’d experienced at school. We often cajole our kids to “be a good sport” without giving them a chance to fully express their feelings. In this case, I was able to seek out some feedback
4. Bless people in crisis. Peacefulness is contagious. Beam peace at agitated people you encounter. On little pieces of paper, write down positive words and the names of people you’d like to bless and then place the pieces of paper in a “peace box” of your own creation. If faraway folks you love are suffering, light a candle for them. Send positive
Silence your cell phone notifications. thoughts, a prayer, or a wish for all good things across the miles. Imagine your good intentions spraying out into the world like a giant fountain. Positivity makes a difference, especially for those who share it. 5. Make a small difference. Keep a coin jar out and fill it with loose change. When a crisis occurs, make a donation to support intervention. On an ongoing basis, give what you can to help those in need in your community. Share leftover pantry items with your local food bank, and old clothes and belongings with non-profit thrift shops. Feel good about steadily being part of the solution. 6. Spread joy. Refuse to give in to cynicism. Put a positive bumper sticker on your car. Put out a colorful flag in your yard. Decorate your environment with the word “peace”
December 2020 www.mendolakefamilylife.com
