40K for 40 days: Day 29 - How solving a tangled-up slinky can give clues and provide answers for resolving Peace!

Day 29 of the "40K for 40 Days" blog series during our Martin Luther King 40 days of Peace Campaign on the Charter's blog and through social media. 

I love the slinky metaphor used in today's entry by Shane. I also love the way he shares his personal worries and what's causing him stress and a creative 5-item list to help you untangle those mental slinkies you might be experiencing.

Thanks, Dad!

Read Day 1 here to learn the story behind this series!

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With love,

- Felipe 

Day 29 Inner & Outer Peace, +40k for 40 Days 

How solving a tangled-up slinky can give clues and provide answers for resolving peace!

Some lessons learned from a recent experience while playing with a child's slinky and getting it all in a big mess. My child asked me to fix it, and so I went about attempting to do the adult think and work it out by myself until I realized, I clearly couldn't figure it out by myself, and my most effective resources in resolving the mess were the very people who asked me to fix it.

Let's try together, kids... And the fun began, until we figured it out and freed our slinky to raptures of applause, we gave ourselves, of course!!

- Lesson One was... It needs to involve kids, not just Be For them, as they have many of the solutions and don't necessarily need to be able to articulate them, but rather show us and be part of the process.

- Lesson Two: Getting Tangled Up, is often required, getting frustrated, and close to just throwing in the towel and giving up but knowing that there is a solution and that the process itself can produce lots of learning.

- Lesson Three: Shaking, Moving, Playing, and even Smiling can be part of the resolution when all parties are on board, consenting, and engaged. Fun is optional but it makes it so much easier!

- Lesson Four: Having an Anchor is Vital, and even if the anchor is released now and again and valves or springs are sprung, going back to grounding and anchoring is required. Tension is part of the process, too, and may even be essential but not to the point of danger for any of the parties involved.

- Final lesson: Parallel to a challenging situation at home where one of our little girls is not well and all the worry, stress, and tension that can come with this... Take it outside if it's all getting a bit too much, and let nature provide a much-needed break, a breath of fresh air, and a release of unneeded tension.

For anyone that has ever experienced having a child that is ill or sick at home, it means many things, but certainly, it's all hands on deck and very limited ability to focus on anything else but getting your kid better. But, even in these challenging times, there are lessons to be had and smiles to be smiled & shared. 

I collected our eldest girl from school by bike, and we went cycling together to untangle our metaphorical slinky (stress), get fresh air, be playful, and childlike, and share time and movement together. The other option is to remain stressed and worried, feeling guilty about not being in work or not being able to get on the saddle and let the 40k 4 40 Days Challenge slip. And possibly, most importantly, not be in the greatest space for our wee girls who need us most in these moments of difficulty.

Just a few more Ks to go, and we are done with this, but we are never done with learning about our inner and outer peace.

-Shane O'Connor