Karla’s Korner: Leaf Moments

Leaf Moments….

Sometimes our greatest lessons come from the unlikeliest of places. Sometimes when we least expect it we find ourselves seeing through an ordinary event in an extraordinary way; almost as if we’ve adjusted the lenses of our life’s looking glass. Finding myself learning lessons on a pretty regular basis this week was no different. Deciding to pitch in and help my son with a little yard work while the husband is away, I offered to use the leaf blower. Leaf blowing is not something I do often but thought I would give it a try; be a team player if you will. It seems as if all of the sudden there are leaves everywhere and while I realize that Fall is upon us the leaves have fallen rather quickly this year I think.

Watching my son make numerous trips through the yard with the push mower I noticed how meticulous he was at making each “swipe” of the mower match up with the previous one. At one point half of the yard was free and clear of leaves while the other was not I began to blow the leaves that had covered the deck. As I finished and turned to admire my handy work I noticed that more leaves had already fallen leaving my ever so briefly clean deck littered again. Back at it I blew the remaining leaves away handed off the blower and realized that somewhere in the midst of the fumes and dirt and muck that I had blown into my hair I had just learned a valuable lesson; no matter how hard we try we can never have a perfectly clean life. There will always be debris in our way and no matter how many times like the leaves we blow it away something else is waiting to clutter it up again. The key to this is figuring out how to “leaf” the troubles behind us and move on.

So what we do? Do we linger around and wait for the proverbial leaves to fall allowing life to pass us by in the meantime or do we live in the moment appreciating what we have and when the time comes face the obstacles and move through them? In discussing disappointments and life stumbling blocks recently a friend shared with me that it’s okay to take a seat on the pity pot or wallow in the muck that life sometimes throws our way, however, it’s not okay to stay there. In his words “ when we experience a disappointment, it’s ok to have a pity party, but don’t stay all night. Just stop in, say hello, have a drink, and move on.”

As parents we strive to give our children a good life, one filled with happiness, feelings of safety and security, however, I believe it is also our responsibility to teach our children how to deal with disappointments and those “falling leaf” moments of our lives. If we prevent our children from experiencing difficulties and disappointments then we are doing them a disservice; it is imperative that children learn to balance between the good and the not so good. Acknowledging disappointment is essential in learning how to cope and move forward pushing through the tough stuff. We must also be able to handle the good stuff responsibly as well. Life is about balance and understanding that we can’t have one without the other. Instilling that knowledge within our children is an essential life lesson for them to learn.

Live life to the fullest. Love with your whole heart, take each day as it comes and be happy.
This week I encourage you to embrace life as it comes. Set aside worrying about what might happen and enjoy what is happening. If and when a difficulty arises, face it head on and push through. Live life to the fullest. Love with your whole heart keeping a broom close by for when the tough stuff comes along.

~Peace,

Karla

I think we all need a touch point a place we can go to be inspired. Karla is my children’s teacher, a good friend, and a person with a heart of gold. I hope that her words will inspire you to do more. We are only as good as the people we surround ourselves with. It is important to listen with your heart and proceed with your eyes open. Enjoy!

Read more Karla’s Korner, also please visit Karla’s Lifetime Moms page and read her articles.

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