Author: Michael Tino

mouths of babes

“Our family says the same prayer every night before we eat dinner as a way of collecting ourselves after a busy day. We say it together, and we always end with ‘Amen.’ Or rather, we used to end it that way.

“You see, for reasons known only to four-year-olds, my oldest son was obsessed with talking about ‘peanut butter’ and ‘eyeballs’ for most of his four-year-old year. My wife and I mostly put up with this good-naturedly, but our then-one-year-old son absorbed this language for months on end. Our older son gradually grew out of his peanut-butter-and-eyeballs phase, as children generally do, but our little one held this memory deep inside him.

“One night months later, our younger son, by this time two years old, burst out at the end of our dinner prayer: ‘Amen-Peanut Butter-Eyeballs!’ My wife and I laughed, rolled our eyes, and we all started eating.” -from a Braver-Wiser reflection by Christian Schmidt

What have you heard a child say that made you laugh but stuck with you?

competition

Sometimes, play gets serious. Sometimes, it gets too serious. A little competition can be healthy to instill excitement, and too much makes us lose sight of our compassion.

When have you experienced healthy competition?

laughter

Caught in the rain–it can be a disaster, or a moment of unexpected joy and laughter. The kind of laughter that bubbles up from deep inside of us and helps us simply enjoy the present moment.

When have you had a moment of unexpected joy and laughter recently?

bikes

“May your helmets stay clipped for protection of your magnificent mind.
May your tires stay full and may your spirits be filled with hope and love today.
May you feel the freedom of the bike, the freedom to journey together,
and the freedom in connecting to your deeper self.” -from “Blessing of the Bikes,” by Margaret Weis

What will free you to connect to your deeper self today?