Growing Miracles

As you may know, I have been actively looking for miracles in my life, big and small. The first night, after a long day of looking and finding nothing, I was watching the movie “Scrooge” with my family, when I found it, hidden inside a few key songs.

Quick side note: I am a musical freak.  I love, love, love musicals.  In fact, my life is pretty much a running musical, and I have the magical ability of turning almost anything anybody says into a song.  Most of the time it stays quietly tucked away in my head, but sometimes it finds its way out of my mouth.

Anyway, back to the point.  The key songs were “I Like Life”, and “Happiness is Whatever You Want it to Be.”  The I like life song is about how if you like life, life will like you.  Kind of like looking for those miracles, right?  And the other song is pretty self-explanatory, and had me wondering what I want happiness to be.  The miracle of these songs is that they brought me back to the present moment, if only for a moment.

Fast forward several days, and I was finding the miracles, moment to moment in each day.  Still, overall, I was feeling the same doldrums as before.  Then something happened, the miracles started to grow.

I had an epiphany.  It is not enough to look for the miracles.  For some things, it is up to me to make the miracles happen.  For example, my kids for days, had been screaming at each other, at me, at anyone.  They were unhappy, and I was miserable most of the time trying to constantly intervene.

One night after putting them to bed, I made the decision.  The next day would be different.  Very different.  Tomorrow I knew, my children would get along, and I would love my time with them.  Why?  Because I would be very present to them.

That didn’t mean they get whatever they want, whenever they want it.  It meant my love would not be dimmed.  It meant that the “Scrooge” in me, would not outweigh the “Father Christmas” part of myself.

When they got in a spat with each other, I softened my eyes, and was there to hug them both, and not take sides.  I listened, encouraged them to use their words.  When they could not find the right words, I helped them, and they echoed these same words back to me, and to one another.

It’s only been a few days, and it’s not perfect.  But the big feeling in the home is peace again.  I don’t feel overwhelmed, and my husband gets to come home to happy smiling faces, and a mostly clean home.

As I am more receptive to my kids, they are more receptive to me.  They listen better at the dinner table, at bed time, and all the times in-between.  They are learning to trust that they can come to me for a hug and a listening ear, even if they have been “naughty”.

These tricks aren’t new to me, they probably aren’t new to you, either.  Often, I forget to use them, I get caught up in the stories, and drown in the ocean of my mind.

But without fail, when I remember that the peace of our home, and the peace of my heart is mine to create, miracles happen, and then, like magic, they grow.

“They say happiness is whatever you want it to be.”

What does happiness look like to you?