Toddlers are truly the coolest people I know.

A wonderful post from the Sceptical Mother Facebook page

They don't care what you think. They don't care how they look. They aren't ashamed of their bodies or the silly way they dance or their wild hair or mismatched shoes. They marvel at the wonder of bugs and all living creatures. Their innocence is truly something to behold. If adults had the persistence that they possess, can you imagine the possibilities? They are full energy, independence and so much love.

 As Boomers we need to recapture the energy, the persistence  and the belief n possibilities that we had when we were toddlers.  Can you imagine what a wonderful world this place would be if we showed the energy, the persistence and the belief in self and others that toddlers show every day.

Children's Play

As my grandson approaches three, I am fascinated by the development phases he is going through. 

Higher-level skills appear to develop in stages. Memory first emerges as a very simple function involving only the hippocampus, the part of the brain that receives and organizes new information.

 Infants as young as two months can recognize when they see something new, as shown by how long they stare at it. A child’s ability to consciously recall information at will does not begin to develop until his or her first birthday, however, and this system must mature during the next few years. 

I know that once he reaches three or four that he will start to remember our interactions with him on his own, he will create his own memories, not those suggested by others. One reason that people typically cannot remember much that happened to them before the age of 3 or 4 is that the parts of the brain necessary for recalling such memories are not “wired” then. The synaptic connections that link the hippocampus to the cerebral cortex have not yet been made. These connections become circuits as your child enters preschool. 

Meanwhile, other parts of the brain, notably the prefrontal cortex, are also developing. This enables a growing child both to understand why it is important to remember certain things and to develop tricks and strategies for recalling those things.

Three-year-old engage in more and more elaborate imaginative play. then they do as two year old's. Children at three will whip up entire make-believe scenarios with characters and events in abundance. Tricycles become cars, ambulances, motorcycles, and fire engines—complete with the appropriate noises. Simple cardboard boxes become cars, boats, trains, houses, tunnels, caves, puppet theaters, and castles. A child will love it if mom helps them construct tents and playhouses by draping blankets over chairs or tables.

When children get together with one or more three-year-olds, chances are that they'll spend at least some of their time playing house: whipping up meals, putting the "baby" to bed, and so on. 

Playing house allows every child to play roles that they've observed a lot over the years. It also gives them a chance to rehearse social interaction in a cooperative way, practice that will enhance their building of "real" friendships outside the playhouse.

In play acting, young children will imitate adult behavior, but you will notice a difference between this and fantasy play at age two. The child is no longer merely mimicking adults, but rather role-playing: inhabiting a persona and making it real. 

Play acting now is not just a matter of having the right props (although that is important), but of assuming the right attitude and saying the right words.

Most make-believe games will not require adults to participate (or even listen). Indeed, it will probably expand your child's imagination more if you allow them to make up their own scenarios rather than offering input. Letting children create her own private world. If you are invited you to play a role,by all means join in. But take the role assigned to you and let your child control the unfolding of the plot

dreamers

The following is adapted from the Inner Bonding Website

The world needs the dreamers, those people who have faith in themselves and the world and who can see the possiblilites of life. However many of us are held back and even though we dream, we fail to act on those dreams. There are many reasons not to act, here are a few that our self talk may say to us to destroy our dreams:

I cannot do that.
I am too old.
It is too late.
It is pie in the sky.
It is not that important.

Subconsciously we hold our dreams back when there are deep unhealed false beliefs that are telling us that we have some kind of limitation. We are not good enough. We are not talented enough. It is not our time yet. Or we need to work very hard.

When we were very young, we expressed our dreams and visions freely, and some of us, instead of being supported got squashed, judged or ridiculed by our caregivers, teachers or friends.

Were you told?
How you dare to ask for that?
I do not have this and that.
I had to give up so much.
Who do you think you are?
Stop dreaming. Hard work is the only thing that matters.

As children we had a choice to either pursue our dream and lose others, or forget our dream and lose ourselves. Most of us had to go with a second choice. Once we silenced our dreaming self, also a source of our creativity and magic, it goes into hiding and stops sharing. This is one of the reason why so many people say: I do not know what I am passionate about. What if I do not have passion at all? I do not know what brings me joy. What if I have to work really hard to figure it out?

If you want to reconnect with your dreaming self you need intent and discipline. You must be willing to stop following dreams that belong to others. You must be willing not to fall under the spell of people who are telling you what you need to do and how. No matter how hard you try to follow what others are telling you still joy and magic will be lacking from your life.

You must be willing to heal false beliefs and become an adult that the child needed to begin with. The adult who is loving, caring, attentive, gentle, curious, supportive and safe. Dreaming self will not show up after a few times when you were in a good and supportive mood. Remember it went hiding as there was no consistent support and safety. However if a loving adult offers a loving hand many times it will accept it. You will experience a boost of joy and good energy. Suddenly you will know what you like, and what you REALY like. There is clarity, and all kind of ideas pop up in your mind. You will remember all the things that you have put aside with explanation: Once time is right.

Sometimes dreaming self needs your permission to fully shine the light out. Here is the permission that Ivanka Jankovic has written to her dreaming self since she was still very hesitant to fully express herself.



Sweetie you do not need to hide any more. Your hiding is over. I give you permission to be who you are. You can have anything you want. You can share anything with me. You can express your dreams. I will fully support you, and I will listen to you. I will be there every step of the way. I am interested to hear what you would like to share.


It is your time now to play, enjoy and relax. You do not need to wait for anyone else until their dreams come true. You are not responsible if they get triggered and feel threatened. People who do not embrace their dreams, will always get triggered by someone who dares to dream and I will handle those situations. You just need to be fully yourself. Shine out your light. We are welcoming you. You are safe, loved and supported.


When you reconnect with your dreaming self and start following your deep dreams Spirit steps up to help. You will meet people that are on a similar path and love to support others and their authentic dreams. And that is true magic and remember you can then join in and experience the magic of the moment.

Zen and Buddhist thought

Since I have started to realize that I will be a grandfather, I have started to pay more attention to the simple things in life and I have also started to take stock of what is important and what I hope to pass on, if given the opportunity. To help me I have, on my I google account, a section called Buddhist thought for the day and I find reading them helps be gain some focus on life. I liked this one as I think it allows one to think about relationships:

If only I could throw away the urge to trace my patterns in your heart, I could really see you. - David Brandon (Zen in the Art of Helping)...

Really seeing someone is the first step in establishing a strong connection and helps to build strong relationships. I think small children see a person without trying to trace patterns, so I hope to rekindle the joy of life that I was had as a small child and with that joy and the wisdom of life start to look for and find ways of passing on the understandings I have gained to my grandchild that I was not able to pass on to my children because I was too busy with my career and my own self centered views on life.

I wonder do we as boomers believe in the importance of relationships or do we believe in the idea of relationships. At one point in my life I probably believed in the idea of relationships not the value of the relationship so as I mature I hope to regain the wisdom of my childhood,