Family matters

FamilyI knew that I wanted the next topic of this blog to be about our family but I really needed time to let it sink in. Even on the day when I became aware of the weekly deadline of ‘I have to write’ building up, a little note on my favourite Yogi tea said ‘Let things come to you’, so I decided not to rush with this.

The following quote kept returning to my mind and resonating with me throughout the week:

“Any time a baby is born to a family, the freshness of his perspective is added to the chain of consciousness of the family and the potential for great evolution is gifted to the family. I like to think of heritage like a painting that someone began long time ago. Each new member of the family comes to amend the painting as it progresses towards the masterpiece that it is to become.” – Teal Swan

This felt so real to me, especially at this beautiful time in our lives when we are preparing for a new baby to join our family. Also, I had a rare pleasure of spending over a week with my mom. We indulged in mountain walks with Pepe the dog, eating tasty meals, shopping for cute matching tops for the summer, being lazy in front of the TV while catching up on documentaries on reptilians, and talking. And I really mean covering just about every topic we could think of. We remembered nearly everyone we know in our family tree, dead or alive. We talked about sex, pregnancy and birth stories through generations in our family. We discussed the complexity and beauty of the workings of this Universe. We shared lots of stories – the difficult ones that brought up tears and shadows, and the funny ones that made us giggle.

So after our time together, I really knew I wanted to write about my family, but I could not quite decide which leg of the three-legged-stool (that I am guessing most families’ dynamics are) to focus on – the weird, the “wrong” or the wonderful. Focusing on the challenges and difficulties that we have experienced together would have brought out the aspects of “wrongness” or how things should have been different in some ideal world. The “weird” would perhaps show how we are unique in comparison to other families. At the end, this blog is about loving what is without wanting it to be anything other than what it is in the present moment, no matter how “wrong” or weird it might appear. So I decided to focus on all those experiences that I have had with this family (which – I believe – I chose to arrive into) that I actually love just the way they are. Here they are, in no particular order, the things I love about my family.

I don’t actually remember the last time we ever sat together and, for example, just enjoyed each other’s company while engaging in some simply pleasurable game or activity (like playing cards), but when it comes to diving deep into discussions about the twisted innards of the multi-dimensional Universe and the Meaning of Life there is no stopping us. And we have tried! While going deep into such conversations can be exhausting, I like that the majority of the most profound and thought-provoking conversations I have had in my life happened with my family members.

We may not all enjoy a perfect health 100% of the time, and each have had or continue to have challenges but we all possess a strong sense of the magical essence of bodies when it comes to healing as well as the power of mind-body connection. At least at some point in our lives, we have all been open to various alternative healing therapies and modalities – acupuncture and acupressure, reiki, crystals, magnets, affirmations and shadow work, release of energetic blocks, hands-on healing, coffee enemas, liver flushes, positive affirmations, etc. I love it!

We all have a passion for food – simple, tasty and nourishing. And we are aware of how powerful nutrition can be in allowing the body to restore itself and return to balance.

Since my parents’ divorce the four of us live in four different countries and we may never meet all together again. I am more bothered not by this thought but by the fact that even arranging physical meetings between two or three of us is cumbersome and, frankly, there seems to be a time limit for how long we enjoy each other’s physical company. But, by god, if I ever have a problem, no matter how small, or need any support from my family, their presence, care and concern in my life become as intense and palpable as if we were all in the same room.

We don’t touch like they do in hip-shaking-rhythm-filled countries such as Argentina or Spain (I often admire on metros or in public how much Spanish people kiss and caress their kids!) but I don’t remember doubting that my family loved me. I also really like the other side of being “hands-off” in that we do not interfere with each other’s decisions or personal truths. Everyone is allowed to make their own decisions without obsessive control or need of approval. And we are slowly getting a little bit better at this whole touching thing with an odd hug or a kiss…

Even years ago, I remember sharing with pride how liberal our parents were in terms of allowing my sister and I to define our own experiences and make our own choices. My parents were always inspired by Kahlil Gibran’s quote about children being the arrows that just need to be aimed and let go off. It feels like that in my family – that whatever the mystical karmic reasons were for our souls to gather on this planet, it has all  been resolved between the four of us. And since we are not very good at just hanging out to play cards, the family unit is no longer needed as such. So it seems that we keep in touch not because of any blood ties or obligations, but simply because we find each other actually interesting.

Finally, one of the things that I admire the most about us is that we all have the inner awareness about things not being what they seem on the surface but rather all interwoven with mystery and magic. Therefore, our opinions often border on the edges or even completely alternative paths from what mainstream thinking might be.

It’s absolutely fascinating to be at this transition between the mossy family roots and a little bud of a new branch beginning to form. I really look forward to welcoming into our lives and getting to know this tiny painter with a fresh perspective who will add new colours and shapes to our family’s masterpiece.

Tags:
0 Comments

Leave a reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

*

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

©2024 Wildish Wonder

Log in with your credentials

Forgot your details?