Personalized Mantra Practice
Mantra Practice
We took our first flight with two littles under 4-years-old and there was turbulence.
I kept worrying that my 5-month-old wouldn’t like the plane and she’d scream the whole way.
Instead, there was a kid behind us who was kicking the seat, yelling, and letting out other wild sounds.
Eventually he woke her up.
Then he went to sleep. She woke up with two hours left on the flight.
My fiancé and I passed her back and forth. Tagging each other in when she’d get too crabby and be on the verge of crossing to the dark side.
I ate a bag of trail mix in between bouncing her and watched an M’n’M roll into the aisle.
The turbulence picked up. The green M’n’M rolled back and forth. Then a flight attendant stepped on it. This reminded of what little control we have over everything.
Letting Go of Control
Here we were flying through the sky in this large metal container we call a plane. Anything could happen.
Instead of focusing on the swaying of the plane that was making me nauseous. Or the very awake baby who could explode at any minute. I focused on my daughter’s smiles and the smiling passengers around us. I looked for joy and it was everywhere.
There was also stress. There was another screaming baby. I could have gotten angry that he woke up my daughter, but instead I felt immense compassion for them knowing we were all on this ride together.
I found myself laughing a lot at the chaos and the lack of control. I wish I could say I do this all the time. But as most parents who don’t have adequate sleep some days the chaos makes me really grumpy.
It is a gift every time I surrender my perceived control of things I have zero control over!
Writing Exercises to Create Personalized Mantras
Ponder these questions or write down your answers.
What can I choose to focus on this week?
How can I find laughter in the chaos?
Can I surrender the need to control?
Mantras to Meditate on This Week:
Feel free to fill in the blanks with your unique mantra: a word or phrase that’s repeated to help focus the mind.
I choose to focus on _________(my breath)
I can find laughter _________(underneath the anger)
I can surrender ____________(the need to control)
I’d love to hear what you come up with.
Share it with me in the comments.
Love Always,
Danielle Mallett
