I started this little chart for myself inspired by the @eqafe recording ‘Realizing My Reach’.
Drawing it out in circles, layers – me being the dot in the centre, the origin point – made me realise how often I work from the outer layers in. Where I first take care of all those points furthest away from me and will only get to myself ‘if I have time to spare’. In a little chat with Maite over coffee we were discussing how as a mother it’s so easy to want to take care of everything else before yourself. That when I get to my moment of ‘okay, tended to x, y and z NOW I can get some Real work done’ I suddenly realise how hungry I am, how I urgently need to go to the loo, that I am in serious need of a shower,… All my basic needs start popping in my face and instead of going ‘Oh my, I’ve been neglecting myself!’ I react in a sense of inconvenience because I REALLY NEED TO GET THIS AND THAT STILL DONE!!. It’s then no wonder that the world is upside down, where we live in an ultra modern age yet haven’t sorted out hunger or poverty. We don’t even want to take care of our own Basic Needs, seeing it as ‘not so important’ and ‘will get to it when I have some time’. This becomes a pattern that becomes magnified on a Global Scale where our skewed priorities scream us blatantly in the face. Take some time to get your priorities right, it’ll go a long way!
![Cesar gave Syntia his train tracks about a year ago, and before they were hers, she would play with them together with Cesar. She's had a ton of time to learn the different pieces, how to put them together and build a track, but for some reason, she DID NOT want to build a track by herself and most of all preferred to just watch as someone else built the track for her.
Lj and I knew she was perfectly capable of building a track for herself and we tried to support her to start small and show herself that she can do it. Or that we'd be here if she gets stuck, but she can at least try on her own. Any such attempts, however, were met with an absolute and firm refusal. So, we did it with her, or for her.
We started wondering, is this little girl really just taking advantage of us at this point? Are we entertaining this too much? Should we push harder? We knew she could do it, she knew she could do it, but for some reason she just didn't want to do it, at least, not yet.
And then one day, out of the blue, she takes out her blocks and starts building a track... by herself. Lj quietly waived me over, pointing at her, then signing 'shhht', lol - didn't want to disturb the moment. The track you see in the pic is the first one she built by herself. It wasn't a "beginner's" track like a simple circle or a straight line, it was a more intricate design laid out exactly and precisely how she wanted it to be, including all the elements she wanted to have as a part of it. Kabam, out of the blue.
There are other things where Syntia 'took her sweet time', like learning how to walk and potty training, where it was clear at some point that she was able to do it, but for some reason, pulled back or didn't want to do it all by herself just yet. It's so easy as parents to freak out over that, to think that children should develop skills in a particular way, like 'starting small' or doing something by yourself as soon as you're able to. But not all kids are the same in this. [Continued in comments..]](https://scontent-sea1-1.cdninstagram.com/v/t51.29350-15/135216034_868657797266702_107582540258970761_n.jpg?_nc_cat=105&ccb=1-7&_nc_sid=8ae9d6&_nc_ohc=YW0BFh5jCagAX8o4-_O&_nc_ht=scontent-sea1-1.cdninstagram.com&edm=ANo9K5cEAAAA&oh=00_AfAu5PXgozAsoNXkk2oVpvh6PLzszyXUuzDSKFLhABau9A&oe=647E3CD2)
