Consider this scenario: You are at the dining room table, working intently on a project at home. You’re deeply immersed in your work and very focused. Your 12-year-old daughter comes through the room and goes into the kitchen. You peripherally notice that she’s mumbling and perhaps a little agitated. But, you’re so intensely focused on what you’re doing that you are not so tuned into what’s going on around you. The mumbling and agitation mostly fly right over your head.

Several minutes later, you hear a loud clatter and crash in the kitchen accompanied by an angst-filled yell. You run in, puzzled, apprehensive, and frightened. You see your daughter standing amongst the ruins of several large, beloved pottery bowls! You see that she’s not hurt and exclaim, “Oh no! What happened?!” The answer you get from your crying, obviously seething daughter surprises you: "I told you I was hungry and wanted something to eat, and you completely ignored me and left me to fend for myself!!”

You, feeling bewildered and defensive, protest: "But, you never told me you were hungry! How can you say that I ignored you!? I did nothing of the kind! And, why didn’t you ask me to help you instead of creating such havoc in our kitchen!?” In your grief over the loss of the one-of-a-kind pottery, you add, “I loved those bowls, and we can never re-create them!”

The screaming match escalates, and things devolve from there.

Can you relate to this scene?

In chaos and confusion, the first casualty is mindfulness. Right out the window it goes, and only comes back after the smoke is clearing and the dust is settling. But, amidst chaos and confusion is when we need mindfulness the most! That’s when we need a calm space to assess what happened, what’s going on, what needs doing first, and how best to handle the situation ~ in thought, words, and actions.

The natural inclination in a situation like the one I painted above is, indeed, to get defensive, to blame someone for being clumsy or careless or even malevolent. But, if we were to have a bird’s-eye view of everyone’s perspective, we would most likely respond differently.

Perhaps we would learn that our daughter came home deeply troubled with very painful, bad news. Perhaps she learned something sad about a friend of hers or something she had been joyfully anticipating fell through. Perhaps she had wanted to confide in you and found you unavailable and distant, adding to her loneliness or frustration. These feelings might be very difficult for her to understand, let alone effectively communicate to you. What she needs is not a defensive response from you, but a compassionate one. (Maybe she loved those bowls, too!) 

If your initial response to her is based on your thoughts about what you THINK happened, you both are probably in for a very rough time. If you have summed up the situation, you have created a story in your head about what’s going on. And, believe it or not, that’s where we can get into some pretty big trouble.

We believe our thoughts. We believe them by default. We rarely, if ever, evaluate our thoughts. We think ‘em, we buy into ‘em, and then we often act on them as though they’re the truth. We do this mindlessly, without taking the time to run our thoughts through the acid-test of questioning them.

Here’s a fun fact: According to the Laboratory of Neuro Imaging, humans have, on average, about 70,000 thoughts per day. And, the majority of those thoughts are just plain not true. Nonsense. But, we treat these thoughts as The Truth, and we feel, speak, and make decisions as though those thoughts were true. They’re not. Most of them, anyway.

So. What can you do about this automatic acceptance of our thoughts?

Hint: Don’t believe everything you think! 

Here’s one idea: Wait.

Try to develop a practice of pausing a few moments to ask yourself if what you’re thinking in the heat of the moment is true. Or, even try to find out what you’re thinking. Thoughts go by so quickly, we may not even be aware that we are thinking them! So, ask yourself: What Am I Thinking? (W.A.I.T.) 

If it’s not a helpful thought, ask yourself if it is true (and, it’s probably not, if it’s not helpful). Ask yourself if something else could be going on here. Ask yourself if there is a more compassionate way to think about this situation. Then, give yourself the gift of a moment, a brief pause, to allow an answer. If you’re seeing red, then get out of the situation (once you know everyone is safe). Do some deep breathing to disperse adrenaline or some large muscle-movement activity (go outside and run around the house for a moment ~ something like that). Then, ask the question: What Am I Thinking? Then, be alert for the answer.

While I was writing this post a few weeks ago, it occurred to me that, like a string tied around one's finger, an external cue for adopting mindfulness might be helpful.  And, then I had an idea! Remembering those silicone bracelets that folks like to wear, I thought what if I could create a bracelet that said "W.A.I.T." on one side and "What Am I Thinking" on the other?  Sure 'nuff, I did a little research, contacted a manufacturer, and made up a bunch of 'em.  They're a lovely purple color ('cause I'm partial to purple), and you can have one, if you'd like!  Just scroll down a little further and click on the Buy Now button.  The bracelets are $7 each, and that includes shipping and handling.  Order as many as you like (perhaps you know someone who could use a little help remembering to take a breath before saying the first thing that comes to mind).  

Here's one mom's story about her experience with the W.A.I.T. bracelet (she really made my day with this!):

Hello! I just got my W.A.I.T. bracelet today. I thought you might like to know that just this afternoon, my son trampled some of my beloved pepper plants in the garden. I was upset, but I caught a glimpse of purple on my wrist...and instead of yelling decided to imagine myself as an 80-year-old woman sitting on my porch, reminiscing - ("in old-lady" voice) "I remember our first harvest at the new house, and how meager it was because Charzilla was 2 and on the loose, haha"...and the anger magically melted away. I think the visual reminder is very helpful in redirecting and grounding myself. Thank you for the great resource! ♥ ~ C.M.

Be well and be kind,

Marji

P.S. I hope this is helpful to you. If you would like to talk more about mindfulness, problem solving, and finding workable solutions to parenting issues and struggles, or if you have some other issue (whether parenting related or not), please contact me for a no-obligation, no-cost consultation session. You can call me at 845 – 657 – 3111, send me an email at marji AT peacefulparentwhisperer DOT com.


W.A.I.T. Bracelets are $7 each (includes shipping and handling).  They're Eco-Bands, made of 100% recycled silicone, and they are also made in the USA.

IMPORTANT NOTE:  To get started, DO NOT use the "add to cart" button immediately below. Instead, scroll down a little further and use the Paypal button. Thanks! Let me know if you have any questions or any problems!