I have just come off the book tour for my latest book, THE AWAKENED FAMILY. 5 cities, some with multiple bookings.?Over 20 talks in the past 20 days. Chicago, Boston, LA, Toronto, SF and NY. I have met thousands of parents through?this tour and discovered that all of them had one powerful commonality: a need to connect.
The most resounding comment after my talks was this, “I am not alone,” or “I cannot believe so many people are into conscious parenting,” and of course, the classic, “I thought I was the only one who felt this way!” These comments illuminated for me the dire need in all of us to connect to a larger community of like-minded and more importantly, like-hearted individuals.
Who would have thought that parents felt so lonely? I certainly did not realize the extent of this isolation. It has only been after meeting parent after parent, in such a concentrated fashion, that I have come to understand the depths of this disconnectedness.
We live such busy lives as parents, scuttling our children from one activity to the next, racing against time. This has become the new status quo of our existence. In fact, the busier we are, the more noble, dedicated and devoted we are perceived as being. We have taken this to obsessive proportions, of course. For example, when our children graduate from kindergarten we buy them huge bouquets of flowers and throw them lavish parties.
When they turn sixteen, we throw them parties akin to mini-weddings. Our weekends are spent escorting them to competitive sports events and of course, every minute is lavished with details about their well-being aka, their future prospects in terms of an Ivy League education, a career, or some external measure of success.
There is a heavy price to pay for all this “doing” of course. It creates a piercing sense of disconnection and isolation from others. There is often no time to connect to our friends or family as our free time is eaten up by our kids? activities. Quite naturally, we begin to feel lonely and dissociated from a like-hearted tribe. Many mothers, for example, experience burn-out and a sense of utter overwhelm as they are often left in-charge of the children in their fold.
When I pose the question, “where is all this leading to?” many parents are stumped. It is as if they are being posed this question for the first time in their life. As I begin to give permission to parents to live a slower and simpler life, many feel as if they have been handed a life-line. They feel as if they have finally been allowed to enjoy their lives and their children again.
It is here in the admission of their resentment of having to live such a stressed-out and competitive life that they find a new-found commonality with other parents. “You too?” they ask each other. “You have also been feeling stressed and resentful? You also hate the fact that you live in fear for your children?s future all the time?” When they commiserate with each other, they bond. When they bond, they share their vulnerabilities. When they share their vulnerabilities they expand in their consciousness. When they expand in their consciousness, they commit to freeing others of the same bondage. And lo and behold, within moments, I am witness to the further expansion of the conscious parenting movement.
It is this desire to free themselves of anxiety, stress and isolation that brings people to the conscious parenting movement by the droves. Once they taste freedom and joy, they are unable to keep these secrets to themselves. They begin to share their strategies and insights with others. And more and more parents enter the fold of awakening.
We all want to be part of something larger than ourselves. This is why the conscious parenting movement is going global. And this is why I do the work I do: to unify people as one.
My summit in NYC on October 21-23 will do just this. It will bring parents together as one. Join me here: https://drshefali.com/evolve-nyc/
And join me for the GLOBAL BOOK CLUB I am launching this Wednesday on Facebook Live at 1:00 pm EST. Every week, I will read and teach on a subject in the book. If you have purchased the book and are interested in being part of the private facebook group that is a compliment to the Live Global Book club, please visit this page to learn more. https://www.facebook.com/groups/TheAwakenedFamily/
