Emily at the beach with Teddy
I have been able to enjoy 3 wonderful days with my youngest daughter (who is 18) at a beautiful resort in Parksville, BC. (Located on the east coast of Vancouver Island). We had a little log cabin with comfortable beds and a rock fire place. You see this was her birthday gift from me. I have been taking her and her sister there for vacations after the divorce. She has always wanted to go into the Spa and was not old enough until now. She witnessed my relaxed state when I returned back from my visits to the Spa and of course wanted to experience it for herself.
Our children model our lives and how we live them. As they grow up they will model what they have learned through observations of their primary role models, which is most often their parents. They learn from others too, such as the TV, teachers, aunts and uncles, cousins, grandparents. There are waves of people that come in and out of their lives. Children are constantly learning and growing and modeling.
JellyFish with Waves Around it.
We went for a walk along the beach when the tide was in and when it was out. We observed the waves and their imprint on the beach and sand. We saw that sometimes the waves left behind ripples in the sand. Sometimes their storm energy brings in great logs and broken shells with bits of dead sea weed left high on the beach. Sometimes we even saw the dead jelly fish, because life and death are part of the natural cycle. Of course the water waves are constant energy of current water flow. Their current is there doing its work every second of every day and thus it seems when it is observed at first glance that it is always the same, yet with close inspection it is not.
Raising my daughters to young adults seemed at times overwhelming because of the constant flow of energy required to manage the waves of daily responsibilities. At times I a felt that the big waves where rushing up too hard and too fast for me to manage. Other times the waves where slow and predictable. Each day was similar to the one before and then suddenly (or it has seemed) they are young adults. While I was raising them I could not see what it would be like for me when they became young adults because the view of the waves seemed constant and the changes subtle and the view the same. Yet, it was changing just like the shore line does each day.
At The SPA
So we are here and now. Knowing now that the changes are subtle and constant we take each moment and experience as gift to treasure. Being aware though the shoreline is changing. The storms will come and go and with each one leaving an impression until the next storm. Storms are great because they create a pause and leave a mark. I see that the waves of constant energy create possibility and they provide choices to further awareness. Knowing that life is like the waves.
The birthday gift was for her. Now that the gift has been given I realize that I too received the gift. Maybe because now I am seeing the subtle changes that waves make.
