Forgiving Ourselves

Whenever we make mistakes as parents and caregivers, we can be very hard on ourselves, finding it hard to let go of the less than skillful moments that replay over and over in our minds. This inner harsh critic can be very judgemental and make it difficult to forgive ourselves. Instead of thinking of parenting moments as good or bad it's helpful to think of them as skillful and unskillful. It's important that we learn from our unskillful moments and forgive ourselves in the process of repairing any temporary conflicts in our relationships. As you practice this meditation, be aware of the voice of the harsh critic if it arises. See if you can connect with the voice of a compassionate mentor, a perspective filled with empathy and support, a part of you looking for opportunities to grow from conflict and not shut down from it. So let's start by finding a comfortable seated position. And as you get comfortable, just feel the lengthening in your spine and just feel the support of the surface underneath you. And you can rest your hands on your legs or in any other comfortable position. And if it's comfortable for you, you can close your eyes. And as we start, see, if you can give yourself permission to arrive in stillness, allowing it to be a really smooth and easy transition. Just imagine the ease you feel when you're done with the day's tasks and it's just time to relax in whenever way you'd like. See if you can bring that ease to this moment as you let go of what you have to do later, and just arrive here in this precious stillness. And then just take a deep breath in through your nose, feeling your abdomen expand. And as you exhale through your nose, just feel the belly relax back down and just do that a few more times. Tracing the path of a few deep slow breaths. And now just let go of effortful breathing and allow your breath to find its own natural, easy rhythm. And now we'll bring our spacious awareness to body sensations, listening to the body as we scan through it. So notice where you feel your natural breath moving your body. Maybe it's in the abdomen as it rises or falls or the chest as you feel your lungs expanding and contracting. Or maybe right at your nose, feeling the air as it enters and leaves the nose. And at any point in the meditation today, you can always drop my guidance and just rest in whatever spot you naturally gravitate toward. So now just allow your awareness to expand from that one spot to other parts of your body, starting with your lower body, noticing sensations in your feet, your legs, your hips, and your abdomen. And scan your upper body, noticing sensations in your chest, your neck and your throat. And noticing your back and your arms, all the way down your arms...