Why I renamed my newsletter & Comics to share with kids
Hello Friends,
If I had just one message to share with you, and one message to encourage parents to share with kids, it would be this: We Are in It Together. Again and again and again, I hear that parents and kids experience less self-judgment and overwhelm, and more resilience and well-being when they understand that there are others who sometimes feel like them.
We Are in It Together is the name is my podcast, and now it’s the name of my newsletter, too. It’s that important.
Connection is also the theme of the first “adventure” in my Mindfulness and Self-Compassion Workbook for Kids, Volume 1. Today I’ll share with you the first comic from the book as well as an activity that can help both you and your kids experience a sense of connection.
In the comic below, James is feeling frustrated that his favorite basketball team is losing. Curi (the curious chick) helps James understand that his feelings are natural and shared by others.
I can’t logically explain why knowing that others sometimes feel like us can make difficult feelings easier to bear, but it does. The “Buddy Habit” (click here to see the Buddy habit in action) is one of the most profoundly useful Mindfulness and Self-Compassion tools. In next week’s newsletter, I plan to share a podcast in which 17-year-old Grant shares his Mindful Self-Compassion journey, and one of Grant’s biggest ah-has from taking a mindfulness course for teens was understanding that other teens struggle like him. It is so powerful!
My workbooks, podcasts, and classes are full of opportunities for you to experience our togetherness. Getting together with a friend and sharing joys and struggles can do this for us, too.
One of my favorite meditations from my Parent-Child Mindfulness and Self-Compassion class is entitled Human, Just Like Me. This guided meditation reminds us that we are not alone on this human journey. You can listen to a guided, “Just Like Me” meditation on my meditation page (the one for kids features the voices of both myself and my younger daughter). You can also read the meditation in this excerpt from the Mindfulness and Self-Compassion Workbook for Kids, Volume 1:
There are so many wonderful ways to experience our connection. I know that this newsletter is one of them for me. We are in it together! I know it in my heart.
Wishing you light, love, and connection,
Jamie Lynn