I have been a daily meditator for more than half of my daughter's precious 2.5 year life. So it's something she's used to hearing about and seeing in our home quite regularly. She knows that I rise before her in the morning to meditate, and she practices her own minute meditations before bed. We talk about energy and the Oneness, and we use deep breathing as our first line of defense when we get sad or frustrated.
So I should have been prepared for what happened this morning, but I honestly just didn't see it coming.
Kids go through all kinds of phases when it comes to sleep. Regressions. Strikes. Growth-spurt-induced sleep-a-thons. Chloe has been going through the wake-up-super-early phase, which has meant my meditations have been cut short some mornings.
This morning she woke up at exactly the same time as my husband and I, which is usually an entire hour before her. This could have meant no morning meditation for momma, but Divine guidance called for another answer.
After I scooped her from her bed and made a stop at the potty, I gave her two choices (2 is the age of choices!): 1) lay back in bed with books while mommy does a short 15-minute meditation or 2) meditate with mom and dad.
I honestly expected her to pick the books. She's been known to play in her bed for an hour or more when she's resisting a nap and so I figured she'd be happy as a clam to start her day with quiet reading time with her favorite babies and stuffed animals.
So when she said choice 2, I paused in surprise. But she was so earnest and sweet that I took her at her word and brought her into bed with us. I told her that I was going to sit up, and she could either lie between Daddy and me or sit in my lap.
She chose my lap, and so there we perched, me erect in half-lotus with my sweet daughter sitting on my legs, her back to my chest.
I thought a guided meditation would be best to give her something to focus on, and so I cued up one of my favorite Abraham Hicks meditations. She sat still as could be with her little eyes closed. Each time Esther Hicks' voice guided an inhalation, I heard sweet Chloe inhale, and each time she guided an exhalation, I heard Chloe release. It was one of the sweetest sounds I have ever known.
I could feel the warmth of our hearts pressed in perfect alignment, her back leaning solidly into my chest. 'Thank you' became my mantra as tears of gratitude streamed down my cheeks. It was the kind of connection I remember feeling after hours of natural childbirth when our naked bodies pressed against each other and we said hello for the first time. It was divine.
With only a few minutes to go Chloe began to get a little restless, and without me moving or prompting her at all she carefully slid down and rested her head in my lap still breathing with the cadence of the music. I could feel the swirl of our energy all around me, the moment sweetly lingering again and again.
When the track finally ended I looked down and opened my eyes to see Chloe still lying on my lap, eyes closed tightly with her arm draped across her face. I whispered slowly, "It's over Chloe. Wasn't that a beautiful meditation?"
As she opened her little eyes, she peered up at me and said, "Yes Mommy, that was such a beautiful meditation."
There are moments in every parent's life when you finally take a deep breath and realize that maybe you're not doing such a bad job after all, when you look at this little light being in front of you and realize they're too inherently perfect for you to ever possibly screw up. This out-shined any of those moments.
In that moment there was only perfection. Hers. Mine. The moment's.
Another little piece of my outward seeking effortlessly flaked away, and I saw the purity of what Chloe and Brian and I are creating in our little family. I felt the Truth of our life swirling right there between our beating hearts.
It was completely, blissfully unexpected, and I will treasure its simplicity and richness forever. Meditation has offered me gift upon gift in this life, and this morning I was the humble recipient yet again. I cannot think of a better way to spend time with the people I love the most than meditating together. I am infinitely grateful.