Peter Pan Syndrome

More commonly referred to as PPS in my house is something that I have had for many years now (at least 35). I don't want to "Grow Up" I want to be a kid forever! Somehow I came to the conclusion that the rules and regulations that go along with being a "Grown Up" were too restrictive and required great amounts of "Closed Mindedness" so it never appealed to me.

I can remember people asking me what I wanted to be when I grew up and for some reason I created a LOT of pressure on myself to give an appropriate answer, one that was based on my desire to "Impress" people. In retrospect when I consider asking that question of my kids it makes me stop and ask myself why would I want to know what they want to be in a future that does not exist. I want to know what they desire to be RIGHT NOW! and "I don't know" is always an acceptable answer. I feel that allowing my children to become what they desire is the healthy and happy way to be. I would rather be a "Facilitator" than a "Dictator"...besides many "Grown Ups" are too busy with their careers and social life to spend time with their kids...

I am exploring what it means to be "green" and have found a lot more information than I had learned from Kermit the Frog. He is right though it's not easy being green...

Green is so many things and when I think about it I think of things like trees, frogs, earth, inexperience, the way people get around the gills sometimes, some kids I grew up with, a song about a tambourine, conservationism, witchcraft and a light that means "GO!!!"

When I was younger there was no place better than a field or a grove of trees to play in. We had what looked like a neighborhood landfill in our back yard from the 50s (this was the 70s) and found several antique glass bottles when we would dig holes in the ground, some 10 feet deep. There were beds of flowers and soft grass and about half an acre of wheat that was fun to make trails through. After that house we moved out into the country to a ranch called Hi Valley. It was in the middle of acres of apple, cherry and peach trees. There was a mile long grove of oaks that looked like a train when we would drive over the hill into the top of a 15 mile valley with our house at the head of the train. There was an alder or poplar tree and a willow in the front, I made a tree fort with a bridge in these two trees. There was a fruit box in the walnut tree in the back yard that I would climb up into and just sit there because it was a safe place for me to be. I loved climbing trees.

So my love for trees is my way of being "green" for now. I will have to think of more ways later...

Life Is Good

What a magical experience we had at the lifeisgood conference!
This was an event that was tailor made for the family, all of us enjoyed it and can't wait for the next one.
The conference was held at the Inn at the Quay in Vancouver, WA. It sits on the edge of the Columbia river a few yards west of the Interstate bridge. There is a dock a few more yards west and by some happy coincidence 2 of the Tall Ships from Gig Harbor were docked there for the entire conference.
The conference held group discussions, had guest speakers and rooms for games, crafts, music, and toys that seemed to always have somebody in them.
The only speaker that I saw was Scott Noelle who performed an eye opening version of Misty and reinforced the theme of unschooling in his talk. He has such a wonderful approach to parenting and parent coaching that has become a big influence in my life. Here is a link to a small nugget of the type of parenting that we all could learn from. Anyway this was one of the highlights of the conference for me.
Continued...
Having spent time in the game room at the lifeisgood conference really gave me a chance to hang out with a lot of children and it was so easy to get along with them. The children I met were actually considerate of others and that is such a rare experience to have in this world that we live in. We have neighbor children that come over to play and the difference between the behavior is astonishing. It makes me sad to see the way that traditional parenting and schooling has affected so many children and leaves me dumbstruck at the thought of how wide-spread this is. Unschooling and peacefully parenting families are the minority and it makes me want to stand up and do something to get this message to the people that need to hear it. If there was some way to convince the mainstream to change through thoughtful movies and other types of mass media it would make my day, but I know that Rome was not built in a day so I will keep searching.
It was much needed for my family and me to attend this conference and to be around like minded people, the movement is growing and that gives me hope.
Thank You!

My plan for life!

Sometimes it is necessary to create a plan that helps us get through life in a way that is condusive to happiness. I have found that I get stuck sometimes with feelings of doubt and confusion so I have created the following plan...

BE HAPPY!!!

Pretty simple plan isn't it?

Quiet your mind!

Do you find yourself fighting and struggling to maintain a happy existence here on mother earth?
Have you considered letting a higher force take the burden from your daily drudgery?
What if we all just decided to let ourselves be happy and stop trying to convince ourselves that we are not?
How much effort do you put into worrying?
I know that life can be an emotional roller coaster when everything comes at us in a down pour of responsibility.
Just how much of that emotion is created in your own head by over-thinking everything?
Do you really need to keep judging yourself?
Is there a quiet place that you can go to where your thoughts won't invade?
What if you asked you mind to give you some personal space?
May seem strange but the time away from all of your thoughts and cares can really give you a chance to heal and see that everything is not as bad as you made it out to be.
Find the Silver Lining!!!!