Awesome! Excited to step into the Fatherhood Dojo - thank you for creating this container!
Compassion for that part of me that wants to control my kids, and can label them as “getting in the way” of all the other important things I need to do, is a big one for me. Thanks for naming it.
Thank you, Matt, for opening this space us and sharing it. I'm officially removing my shoes and stepping on the mat.
One thing I've been conscious of lately is the the ever-encroaching awareness that, as a new dad, what I do and say around my child matters so much more. My girl is six months old now and very much a developing personality. The lights are really starting the turn on and the gears are beginning to move on their own. I can tell when she is focused, observing, and internalizing (which is every other minute). This feels a bit like I'm doing my job while my manager looks over my shoulder. Another example is the feeling of taking a huge test (SAT's, AP test, etc.). I'm realizing that, in the process of monitoring my behavior, I might be creating a slightly stressful environment, which freaks me out even more haha.
Anyway, I'm just sharing because that's what's going on here with me. Nothing really to draw from it or purpose to the message that just to contribute. I'm really happy to be a part of the space. Best of luck to all the parents here.
I appreciate your sharing, Will. That inner manager reminds me of the ways we can self-observe—sometimes with criticism, sometimes with neutrality, sometimes with appreciation. Glad to have you here ; )
Awesome! Excited to step into the Fatherhood Dojo - thank you for creating this container!
Compassion for that part of me that wants to control my kids, and can label them as “getting in the way” of all the other important things I need to do, is a big one for me. Thanks for naming it.
Absolutely, Sean. Thanks for stepping in!
“Wild Geese” by Mary Oliver springs to mind as a mantra for Fatherhood Dojo (and really all things human):
You do not have to be good.
You do not have to walk on your knees
for a hundred miles through the desert repenting.
You only have to let the soft animal of your body
love what it loves.
Tell me about despair, yours, and I will tell you mine.
Meanwhile the world goes on.
Meanwhile the sun and the clear pebbles of the rain
are moving across the landscapes,
over the prairies and the deep trees,
the mountains and the rivers.
Meanwhile the wild geese, high in the clean blue air,
are heading home again.
Whoever you are, no matter how lonely,
the world offers itself to your imagination,
calls to you like the wild geese, harsh and exciting –
over and over announcing your place
in the family of things.
Ooh. Permission to not walk 100 miles on my knees repenting. I hear that, Scott and Mary ; )
Thank you, Matt, for opening this space us and sharing it. I'm officially removing my shoes and stepping on the mat.
One thing I've been conscious of lately is the the ever-encroaching awareness that, as a new dad, what I do and say around my child matters so much more. My girl is six months old now and very much a developing personality. The lights are really starting the turn on and the gears are beginning to move on their own. I can tell when she is focused, observing, and internalizing (which is every other minute). This feels a bit like I'm doing my job while my manager looks over my shoulder. Another example is the feeling of taking a huge test (SAT's, AP test, etc.). I'm realizing that, in the process of monitoring my behavior, I might be creating a slightly stressful environment, which freaks me out even more haha.
Anyway, I'm just sharing because that's what's going on here with me. Nothing really to draw from it or purpose to the message that just to contribute. I'm really happy to be a part of the space. Best of luck to all the parents here.
I appreciate your sharing, Will. That inner manager reminds me of the ways we can self-observe—sometimes with criticism, sometimes with neutrality, sometimes with appreciation. Glad to have you here ; )