The Petite Family

Family Circle ~ Winter Solstice 2012

Despite the apocalyptic predictions, we survived the day, and rounded it out with a family circle meeting to celebrate our fortitude. The house was a mess, and everyone was tired, but we cleared a space, embellished it with our yuletide creativity, and honored this longest night of the year. We gave the kids each a special scented holiday candle, made by a local company. They enjoyed testing each other’s scents, then lightening their respective candles to add to the glow on the table.

With cedar incense setting the olfactory backdrop, I read this prayer by Ron Adams from 2010. I thought it encompassed nicely many of our sentiments, and would give the kids something to ponder.

I pray that individuals in the world will awaken to the higher vibrations of spirituality and see all religions are connected.

I pray that people of the world wake up and realize that vast amounts of profit, greed and struggle to survive is not the purpose of life, and together we can make life work for each individual on the planet, that everyone has the right to be clothed, fed, housed, and to live in peace.

I pray that individuals will empower themselves and each other to recognize their own inner authority and not be slaves to false masters.

That people realize that their mind/body/soul has the healing power and magick power to manifest the law of abundance, the law of fairness, the law of unlimited potential.

I pray that a great shift happen on the planet, in the name of love, with the will of each person, looking for unity, peace, and respect and sharing that and giving it to each other.

I pray that the media will transform, the entertainment, the video games of the planet would shift away from violence and gossip, one-up-man ship into personal growth and development, the mystical and magickal powers of dreaming, the acceleration of intelligence, and the security of working together to make this world a sacred place, by respecting each others sacred space.

Our main topic of discussion for today was to consider ways in which we need “rebirth,” giving thanks for our history, ancestors and past experiences, and setting new goals for ourselves. We took turns sharing our thoughts, and then recorded them in our family journal.

Our inspiration card for the evening was chosen by Flo from the "Ask and It is Given" deck... “I won’t put those unwanted ingredients in my pie.”

Then we watched this silly YouTube clip about calendars, which Zofia found particularly engaging. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ee2MHyJi_U8&list=PL2C2FBAB7E002EE3E&index=14

We finished up with some words by Joseph Campbell:

Apocalypse does not point to a fiery Armageddon, but to the fact that our ignorance and our complacency are coming to an end. Our divided, schizophrenic worldview, with no mythology adequate to coordinate our conscious and unconscious -- that is what is coming to an end. The exclusivism of there being only one way in which we can be saved, the idea that there is a single religious group that is in sole possession of the truth -- that is the world as we know it that must pass away. What is the kingdom? It lies in our realization of the ubiquity of the divine presence in our neighbors, in our enemies, in all of us. — Joseph Campbell, Thou Art That, p. 107

Then, we closed the circle with our traditional Unitarian Universalist prayer: “The light does not go out. It is transferred to each of us; to share and to hold, and to bring with us when we next return.”

Then we let the kids open one of their small holiday presents, then started the neglected clean-up before getting ready for bed.

A good day.

Circle of Gratitude - Thanksgiving 2012

Today's "Circle of Gratitude" rounded out our quiet and relaxing Thanksgiving day festivities, which started with a short visit from Grandma and Tom. They stayed and chatted for an hour or so, before heading off to their “traditional” buffet dinner at a local restaurant.

After our happy holiday guests departed, we sat down for a little family “gratitude circle,” to reflect on the things for which we are grateful and enjoy the onset of the holiday season. Zofia helped me decorate our “sacred space” and we found a pretty purple candle, that had been hiding in the back of a cabinet, to illuminate the center of our circle. She found this most exciting, along with all the pretty rocks that she loves to leave in piles all over the house. We went around the circle, sharing our gratitude, and today we were grateful for: awareness, family, community, comfort, security, pomegranates, hockey, sitting outside in the sun, playing, colors, and eating!

A Prayer of Thankfulness
For today, I am grateful
For tomorrow, I am hopeful
For my life, I am blessed
I thank my ancestors for their labors and survival
I thank my contemporaries for their companionship
I thank my descendants for carrying me with them
For today . . . I do my best in all things
For tomorrow . . . I honor and heal the environment
For my life . . . I work to be a healthy cell in the body of the Universe I honor the journey of my life with conscious living
and honor the the lives of all I meet and those I will never know.
Copyright Abby Willowroot 2007

And for a little light-hearted promotion of gratitude, we shared this funny “Gratitude Dance” video with the kids.

Upon the completion of our circle meeting, Darren and I took a walk in the sun, while the kids busied themselves for a few minutes. We then indulged in our respective Thanksgiving eats. The kids dined on gluten-free spaghetti and brussel sprouts, with a crustless vegan pumpkin pie with raw coconut cream for dessert. Darren and I had decided to have a durian “feast” for Thanksgiving, and had defrosted a few for the occasion. We ate durian until we were sufficiently satiated. We all felt quite blessed for the bountiful goodness in our lives.

Now, nice and full, we lounged around for awhile, as is the tradition on Thanksgiving, whether one eats large amounts of turkey or durian, right? But, I soon tired of lounging, and tried making gluten-free muffins for the kids, incorporating the leftover durian, along with some fresh coconut, gluten-free flours, flax/chia meal, dates and water. They don’t share our passion for the funky-smelling deliciousness, and detected the mystery ingredient. Well, actually, Joe came in from the neighbor’s house, grabbed a muffin and declared it the best muffin he’s ever had! But, I found it, half-eaten, on the counter later, so I’m thinking his first impression was overzealous, or he succumbed to suggestion, being that his big sister was making offensive gagging noises in the presence of the mystery muffins and Zofia had discarded hers on a chair, right at the level for Bruno, the vacuum dog, to suck it up. Nonetheless, even if my muffins become Bruno treats, it was an entertaining way to spend an hour.

By this time, it was only 5pm, and the kids were thoroughly engrossed in old episodes of Quantum Leap on Netflix, texting friends on cell phones, etc., so Darren and I decided take advantage of the fact that we now have a child old enough to “babysit” our younger two children, and we headed off to the movies for a couple hours. We saw “Taken 2.” Definitely an action-packed flick that, if nothing else, kept us engrossed for 90 minutes.

We got home, took another quick stroll around the neighborhood to gaze at the stars on this clear night, and headed in to start the process of winding the kids down for bedtime. This is always a multi-hour process, with integrated steps, including fits of energy, teeth cleaning, pajama finding, story-reading, sleep-protesting and occasional frustration-inducing, but always, or eventually, results in sleeping children. And, if I’m lucky, once the process is complete, there is enough time and energy left for me to reflect upon the day and record its highlights for future contemplation.

For this day, I am grateful. :-)

Family Circle ~ October 1, 2012

“We are calling the circle and invite you to join us. We yearn for a safe place within which to be authentic, trusting, caring, and open to change. We are searching for a way of life that embraces wisdom and compassion as its core principles. By “wisdom” we mean deep insight into the interdependence of all phenomena, into the ways we are connected and how the strength of each one of us is vital to to the whole. By “compassion” we mean the deep feeling that comes when we recognize our soul’s reflection in another person, when that other person’s pain or joy becomes our own.” ~ Wisdom Circles: A Guide to Self-Discovery and Community Building in Small Groups

This book has been on the bookshelf for years. It offers some great insights into the value of using our “circles” as a catalyst for personal and communal growth. This quote pretty much epitomizes our intentions with creating our family “circle” and our hopes for our children’s futures. Wisdom, and compassion are the stuff good character is made of.

Today, we talked about rituals, and how they can be a positive reinforcement for desired behavior. Our family circle meetings are our attempt to create ritual in our own lives, and will hopefully serve to remind our kids, as they grow, of the importance of creating space for reflection and conscious thought.

Finally, since it is around the time of the Fall harvest, we talked about the things we have “harvested” this year. Wisdom, patience, skills, experience and joy were some of the things mentioned, and we wrote these in our gratitude journal.

Zofia was so cute, trying to participate fully in our family circle today. She created her own “family meeting table” and spent time busying herself testing out all the colors of the pens we had on the table for writing in our journal.

As is our “ritual,” we reminded the kids how important their thoughts are, in creating their experiences, and we closed the circle by saying a prayer, and blowing out the candle(s).

Family Circle ~ August 12, 2012

Today we had a quick meeting, mainly to focus on goals for the upcoming "school" year. I can't believe this is our 8th year of homeschooling!

In our "Journal of Goodness," we wrote down some of our favorite Summer memories and things we are looking forward to in the last few weeks of Summer this year.

We also talked about facing each day with a positive attitude and doing our best in every task we endeavor to accomplish, however small it may seem. The energy we put forth all adds up to equal the life we create!

Make me strong in spirit
Courageous in action
Gentle of heart
Let me act in wisdom
Conquer my fear and doubt
Discover my own hidden gifts
Meet others with compassion
Be a source of healing energies
And face each day with hope and joy
~ Abby Willowroot © 1998

Family Circle ~ June 20, 2012

Quick family meeting to chat about some Summer Solstice traditions around the world, and to set our intentions for the season.

Earth Day Family Meeting 2012

The Earth is a living, conscious being. In company with cultures of many different times and places, we name these things as sacred: air, fire, water, and earth.

Whether we see them as the breath, energy, blood, and the body of the Mother, or as blessed gifts of a creator, or as symbols of the interconnected systems that sustain life, we know that nothing can live without them.

To call these things sacred is to say that they have a value beyond their usefulness for human ends, that they themselves become the standards by which our acts, our economics, our laws, and our purposes must be judged. No one has the right to appropriate them or profit from them at the expense of others. Any government that fails to protect them forfeits its legitimacy.

All people, all living beings, are part of the earth life, and so are sacred. No one of us stands higher or lower than any other. Only justice can assure balance: only ecological balance can sustain freedom. Only in freedom can that fifth sacred thing we call spirit flourish in its full diversity.

To honor the sacred is to create conditions in which nourishment, sustinance, habitat, knowledge, freedom, and beauty can thrive. To honor the sacred is to make love possible.

To this we dedicate our curiosity, our will, our courage, our silences, and our voices. To this we dedicate our lives.

~ by Starhawk

After reading this to the kids, we talked about ways we could help right now to care for our Earth and we wrote them in our family journal. Zofia was too busy picking at the plants and marveling over the candles to do any guided meditation or quiet reflection, but we had a nice discussion and enjoyed being together, since it was rainy and cold outside.

Happy Earth Day!

Welcoming Spring 2012 ~ Family Meeting

We celebrated the Spring Equinox by getting getting our seedlings planted and talking about our plans for this year's garden. Zofia and Joe competed for the watermelon seeds, and Flo decided to plant the herbs in her little patch of garden this year. The other garden boxes will hopefully host an array of veggies, including lettuce, spinach, chard, tomatoes, peppers, squash, cucumbers and carrots.

We talked about the symbolism of Spring, including fertility and re-birth,
and how it's an opportunity to let go of unwanted energy and welcome in new
things. We all took "The Positive Pledge" from ThePostivePledge.com, along
with our continued efforts from the "Complaint-Free World" challenge, we
will continue to focus on letting our thoughts and actions reflect
optimism, faith, love, strength, determination and kindness. While Darren
and I certainly aren't perfect in the positivity department, I think just
letting the kids know that we are conscious of it, and value them doing so,
as well, is a good thing. I'm going to print out everyone a copy of the
pledge and put it around the house, as a reminder!

Today's wellness card says, "Nothing Happens Without My Having Invited It."
~ We talked about taking responsibility for the situations we may find
ourselves in and finding the lesson in the challenges.

There is no such thing as a problem without a gift for you in its hands.
You seek problems because you need their gifts. Richard Bach - Illusions

Closed the circle and played with some potting soil and seeds! :-)

Welcome Spring!

Family Meeting ~ February 20, 2012

It's February, and it's all about the LOVE this month!

Love Unconditionally ~ Unconditional love is one of the greatest gifts you
can give to anyone, so why note include yourself?

Opening prayer:
The waters support and surround me.
The land extends about me.
The sky reaches out above me.
At the center burns a living flame.

We talked about just what love actually is, and the words "life energy,"
and "Universe" came up... we looked to Eckhart Tolle for a little fodder
for reflection:

What is God? The eternal One Life underneath all the forms of life. What
is love? To feel the presence of that One Life deep within yourself and
within all creatures. To be it. Therefore, all love is the love of God.
~ Eckhart Tolle, The Power of Now

Whoa. Deep! Not sure Joe's 9 year-old brain wrapped itself around the
entirety of that, but bits and peaces seeped through, and Flo has a solid
understanding of that divine spark in herself. Zofia just kept doodling
and wanting us to look at her artistic creations. Beautiful! I love
watching their understanding/exploration of life unfold. :-)

We talked about ways we express love. The kids said things like "helping
with chores, giving hugs, being nice and telling someone you love them."

Doodled in our gratitude journal and closed the circle before Joe and
Darren had to rush off to hockey!

A good day!

Family Meeting ~ January 29, 2012

By the time we got going on our meeting today, it was already well into the evening, and I could tell the kids' attention spans would be limited. So, we kept it short and sweet this time. I made everyone a nice cup of chai tea with homemade hemp milk. We lit some candles, and said an opening prayer from A Child's book of Blessings. Then, we talked about some things we're grateful for and looking forward to, especially summer vacations.

We reiterated the importance of having a positive attitude, and how not taking care of ourselves well can affect our mood. This was in response to Joe's crabbiness, after a sleepover the previous day, where he didn't get enough sleep, and could hardly hold himself together by the time he got home. And, of course, I also have lots of experience with sleep issues, so I keep encouraging the kids to remember that a healthy sleep routine is just as important as healthy food.

We talked some "business" stuff about general budgeting and how we're saving for some vacations this summer, so we'll have to be frugal in other areas over the upcoming months. We want the kids to be aware of our money situation, but not burdened by any of it, so we keep it light and simple. Consume less = more space in your life for the good stuff.

We read a quote from the Wayseers book I'm reading about love, and how love never comes into your life uninvited. You have to be open to it (Love/Source of Life/God/etc) to truly benefit from its energy. And sometimes when we don't feel we can make it through a situation, being open to that energy of love (having faith) can pull us through, where we otherwise would feel alone in our struggle. Stopped there... don't want to get too philosophical when everyone's tired! LOL

Zofia danced around during our meeting and brought many trinkets to decorate her space on the table. We closed with another prayer from the A Child's book of Blessings and everyone went on their merry way.