I APOLOGIZE TO MY CHILDRENAPOLOGIZE None of us likes making mistakes and having to apologize. We have always believed we should be perfect - always happy, always in control, and always on top of things. Mistakes are for other people. Mistakes make us feel guilty. We will do almost anything to avoid feeling guilty and needing to apologize. Perfection - or at least the appearance of perfection - seemed like the only way to avoid guilt and recrimination. Everybody makes mistakes, though. We sometimes treat our children as if they were irritants, annoyances, or unpleasant interruptions we have to put up with. Often, when we're busy, we say in any number of ways, "Go away and leave us alone." When we're irritable, we may yell at them just for being in the room. After we have treated them harshly, or merely harbored unkind thoughts about them, we feel guilty and inadequate as parents. Now, we try to be more self-accepting and forgive ourselves for our behavior. Then we can acknowledge our mistakes, apologize, and be forgiven. Before we can fully accept forgiveness from our children, we must first make amends to ourselves, and cleanse ourselves of crippling guilt. Being above reproach is no longer our number one priority. We'd rather have a close relationship with our children than feel isolated by our perfectionism. Making amends to myself for not being perfect enables me to apologize to my children.Click here to listen to this meditation.
This excerpt is from Daily Meditations for Parenting Our Kids by Thomas Wright. Click below for more information. Back To Meditations
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