Kaleidoscope Eyes

Kaleidoscope Eyes…

Bodhi bounds into bed and at the sight of his awake sister, he sings a morning ditty. “It’s a Téa! It’s a Téa! The most wonderful thing in the world… the most wonderful thing in the world…”

I light up at the sight of my children delighting in each other. I marvel that just last night Bodhi wanted to “get rid of her” – expressing the normal frustration of now having to share his mom with another sibling.

Our happiness is so intertwined with our perspective, our point of view. As children, we don’t know that we have a choice on how we want to look at a situation. Yet as adults, with awareness, we can see the same situation through the eyes of love and gratitude – or through the eyes of frustration or worry. That’s what I call Kaleidoscope Eyes.

Kaleidoscope Eyes…

When there are toys scattered throughout the house, thank you. There are children living here.

When there are dirty dishes in the sink, thank you. There is food in the frig.

When the car needs repairs, thank you. There are places to go and people to see.

Shift… Kaleidoscope Eyes

We’re at Storyland, and I watch as a father walks his three young children up and down in front of the train tracks waiting for the engine to pull into the station. The 4 year old boy is scowling. His 3 year old sister is dragging her feet, pulling against her dad’s grasp, whining. And the baby is hanging out in papa’s arms. The dad seems unperturbed about the state of his family. Not in an unkind way, but just hey – this is how is goes with a gaggle of young children.

And I saw how my spiritual training has predisposed me to desire peace – all the time. On a subtle, unconscious level, I want everyone in my family (and the world) to be in a good mood. So when they aren’t, I am slightly agitated and think something’s wrong.

But what if instead of “expecting” peace, I accepted crank pants as the norm? Then my kiddos are just being kiddos – fuss bucket tired or disappointed and making that known, and that’s okay. When they are content, bonus!

My happiness is then connected to my perspective.

Kaleidoscope Eyes…

Bodhi spends hours on the playground merry-go-round. He dubs himself the “conductor” and directs other kids to wait until it stopd spinning to get on or off. When little ones appear, he goes at “little kid speed.” I am so impressed with his awareness and kindness (with a little Bo bossiness thrown in). There are one or two times where he has to be more sternly reminded to stop and let kids on or off and yet in the hours he spends playing, he is considerate.

As we retell the story to Papa at the end of the day, which scenario do we focus on? The cooperative conductor Bo or the bossy who didn’t listen one?

Kaleidoscope Eyes…

A week or so ago, my dear friends Karin and Nan gave Bodhi a kaleidoscope. With each small adjustment, a whole new beautiful magic world unfolds.

Kaleidoscope Eyes…

When I see the world with Kaleidoscope Eyes, my happiness follows. Here’s to passing on some Kaleidoscope Eyes to you. Comment below on how you use them!