I was changing in the gym and heard baby crying. I walked over and saw a chubby baby anxiously waiting for mom to nurse him. Mom was changing. I bent down to greet him and he gave me the most cheerful smile. Then, he turned towards mom and cried for food. Quickly, he turned to me and gave me another big smile. I was delighted to know he could access his emotions so spontaneously. Were we all this way when we were 6-month old? We could access anger, anxiety, fear, sadness, joy and love easily since it was safe to do so. We were present to people in our life and we were present to our own needs.
When we grow up, we don’t feel safe to be in touch with certain emotions. We forget to be present to people around us and we don’t take care of our needs. We settle for many things. Then, we get enlightened. We decide to re-learn to be with ourselves and others as we did when we were babies. We call it “personal growth”. Isn’t that an interesting process?
HsuanHua Chang, www.coachseattle.com