Sarah Wiberg leads the Meadowlark Parent Child class. Here she shares her thoughts on taking time to reflect.

Create moments of inner peace, distinguish the essential from the inessential.                               ~ Rudolph Steiner

I recently came across a pile of tea cups that I had collected over the summer. My intention was for us to have tea during the Meadowlark Parent-Child classes. The idea seemed like a perfect way to encourage what I hope for the class; a calm, quiet, relaxing environment for both the parent and child.  Isn’t it funny how our best intentions can get sidetracked? It reminded me of a comment a good friend said to me, “Should I even offer you a cup of tea, because you never drink it.” And she was right. Every time she made me a cup of tea I never sat long enough to enjoy it. I would easily get distracted and end up with a cup of cold tea. I could blame that on my children but I think I was that way long before them.

It is my very active practice now to sit long enough to enjoy what I have before me; a meal, a game with my children, a book, and a cup of tea. It is too easy to become distracted by the list of chores or commitments that need to be accomplished for the day. I have a picture in my head of who I want to be and that person recognizes the gift of a quiet mind.

For the Meadowlark class I picture a quiet, peaceful room where parents are able to sit, observe, reflect and feel the joy of their child. This peaceful place is possible if we practice the art of being quiet in multiple ways. If we are quiet in our thoughts and bodies our children will respond, their play reflects the environment that they are in. If we are easily distracted, they will be too. If we are calm with focused intentions then our children will feel peaceful and focused too. This brings about purposeful play where children can develop their own capacities such as being able to follow through with an idea.

This class is also a time when we can talk as adults. We may not want our children to overhear these conversations so we can try to be mindful and connect during outside playtime where our voices are not enclosed by the room. Being able to talk freely and share our daily joys and struggles helps us move out peacefully into the rest of our day.

Let’s see if we can get our lives to a place where we can all have a cup of tea … and finish it!