Parenting
Blossoming Awareness
By Jo-Anne Cutler
Apr 8, 2008

I recently took a trip south, having left the accumulation of snowflakes behind with the hope that all would be melted upon my return! Although the calendar indeed says that it is Spring, I don’t think my back yard has received the message yet!

But it won’t be long until the hyacinths and crocuses begin to sprout, the brown wintered grass starts to green up and the closed buds on the trees transform themselves into the beautiful blossoms of Springtime.

Spring is a wonderful example of new growth, increased warmth and the expansion of beauty; something that we too can reflect with awareness, and while I was away, I was blessed to personally experience this reflection.

For the first time since I was a teenager (many years ago!), I had the opportunity to spend precious one on one time with my dad! We golfed, we laughed, we ate way too much, we chatted by the pool, we watched movies, we talked, we saw Tiger sink a winning putt on the 18th green– in person, we boated, watched beautiful sunsets together and conversed some more on everything from politics to spirituality.

Those 14 days that I spent with my father will be a time that I will never forget and the little girl inside of me will always cherish.

During my visit, I also had the opportunity to look in life’s mirror and see him with new eyes as well as myself! I observed the parts of me that I had allowed to stay in hibernation and I connected with a deeper sense of who I am as a woman, mother and daughter.

The best way to describe the feeling (life is all about the feelings you know!) would be that I feel freer than I ever have... in me and in my life.

As I let go of old judgments that I hadn’t realized I had hung onto, it allowed the blossoms of compassion to explode in my heart. I felt a new level of understanding and acceptance of myself and of others, which smoothed the rough edges of my need to control or gain approval, and I was able to capture more than just a fleeting glimpse of what total unconditional love feels like and how it behaves.

Spring is just one of nature’s cycles of rejuvenation and to experience the energy of this new growth as a parent can come with seeing how tightly woven our parenting journey is intertwined with where we came from.

I am so grateful to know this deeper level of compassion in my heart that I can bring into the connection I create with my own kids and can see how this blossoming awareness will continue to open on the branches of my family tree for generations to come!

I hope this Spring blossoms with awareness for you and yours!