Listen
Listen to your children
Listen with your ears
Listen through
Angry words
Complaints
Tantrums
“Unimportant” concerns
Their “no”s
Listen with your eyes
Listen through
“Acting out”
Running away
Throwing
Shutting doors
“Bouncing off the walls”
Listen with your skin
Listen through
Pinching
Kicking
Hitting
Squeezing
Clinging
Listen with your heart
Listen through your
Anger
Despair
Helplessness
Grief
And shame
Listen to what’s hidden beneath
Listen between the lines
Listen to their body
Their breath
Their nervous system
Their thoughts
Their fears and dreams
Because they will use everything but words
To tell you how much they need you
How much they miss you
How deep their need for connection and love is
Be the sky that protects them
Be the earth that holds it all
Be the water that flows with them
Be the air that hugs their skin
Be the fire that warms their soul
And
Listen
What are you so afraid to hear?
What are they trying to say?