When did you last see yourself in the mirror and spontaneously wanted to give yourself a big smooch? Lol, I don’t remember ever feeling that way! As for many, looking in the mirror has over the years become an automated moment of self-scrutinizing, self-criticising and self-judging. As soon as I’d see my reflection in the mirror I would go into CHECKING MODE: looking for flaws, faults, anything that I think *other people* might judge or in some way make an issue of, to then look at how I can better hide or mask those parts of my body. This simple moment of seeing how Syntia interacts with her reflection had me ponder the extent to which I have made private moments of seeing myself in the mirror… about others. Here I am faced with me but all I think of us other people 
🤔. Becoming more aware of myself in front of the mirror in recent days I noticed that I had *started* changing my mirror-moments. I now for instance will first look myself in the eyes, for a second connecting with me and also checking how clear or dull my eyes are, how relaxed or strained. When I see something is off in my eyes I check where I am inside my body, what emotions I am suppressing or what issue I am avoiding to look at. (Check out @mindbodyinnerverse if you’re interested in learning how to work with your body in this way!) But after this moment of eye (I) /self checking I would go right back to looking for flaws. I can do more to transform my mirror-moments! For instance, I can change my starting point when checking my body from Fear to Support : taking a look at what my body looks like so I can see where and how my body may require some extra support. What our body feels like is one thing, but some symptoms of strain or defficiency are easier to spot through seeing your own reflection. Since I am used to checking myself in the mirror in any case, I might as well do it in a supportive way for both myself and my body – transforming my mirror-moments into intimate moment of support with me and my body. Thank you, Syntia for unconditionally inspiring me to do and be better. 
![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=5qvWorAaQU0AX_Qrjn2&_nc_ht=scontent-sea1-1.cdninstagram.com&edm=ANo9K5cEAAAA&oh=00_AfBfLnLqnc_Rg3uprr_1ex9XhutQf0kt2ieu89_7Lu9oxA&oe=64803712)
