How to be Grateful in Renewal & Erosion
Renewal and erosion must work together in our lives. They equal the natural idea of making room for something new. Matt Kahn says, “New is a psychological construct based on how you know things to be, new is that fresh and exciting thing that interrupts normalcy of how life is. Erosion is the death or breaking down of that which was once new. ”
Lesson Plan for Erosion & Renewal
While observing their words, moms need to help their children learn to avoid blaming themselves for the way things are.
Some students may be using self talk to blame themselves for the natural way things are in their lives.
“Whether your personal relationships, your career, your finances or your beliefs are in an influx or renewal or erosion, it does not chip away at your self- worth.”
In Matt Kahn’s video and teaching of Dissolving Sadness, “Dissolving sadness is about having an equally loving relationship with renewal and an equally loving relationship with erosion. We have to be as loving to our garden when it’s fresh and new as when it’s withering away.” In order to put a picture to the two conditions, he says, “Erosion is the garage sale, and the renewal is bringing in more inventory.”
Importance of Gratitude with Renewal
As people move through their lives, Matt discusses how some people become addicted to fresh things in their lives without showing any gratitude for them. Gratitude is the key when moving from renewal and erosion. One example is the video craze with our youngsters. Yes, our children need to experience fun and excitement in many ways, however when there is a constant reach for only new things, it is important for parents to be guides to show them how to include erosion.
Along with many other aspects in life, it is important for parents to help their children see renewal and erosion within their own lives and how to practice to deal with it. If we don’t help them to deal with contrast, it can delay them in their growth. Within renewal and erosion, a spark of disruption such as abandonment, social awkwardness, and loss can take place. Abandonment may occur at school with making friends, social awkwardness can occur when we allow our child to seek only one side of contrast, and loss can be felt as we pay more attention to renewal over erosion.
Point Out Erosion
While our children are living and dealing with contrast, guidance to remain while the new becomes old is the lesson plan. As Matt Kahn says, we need to be the loving parents in both situations. We can’t be loving only during renewal and then as erosion comes upon jump ship. It is important that children see the contrast happening and live within it. This helps the child become familiar with the feelings it brings up and allows them to be aware later when it happens again. Children need to welcome both renewal and erosion. They go hand in hand. Since our lives are filled with us dealing with renewal and erosion in our everyday lives, our children must learn that they exist together. We don’t want our children to run away from erosion every time it comes into play.
For our child’s security in their self worth, this lesson is significant . If a child only recognizes renewal, they may begin to tell stories in their mind that having new friends is the goal. This may back fire and harm the child’s self worth because by always living in renewal, they aren’t familiar with the feelings of erosion. By this example, the child may begin to associate abandonment with erosion. It is crucial to show the child the truth in erosion and the discrepancies in their false thoughts, and to acknowledge how these thoughts can lead to feeling abandoned.
Erosion Works with Renewal
As erosion takes place after every renewal, this influences how they see the workings of the world. For example, looking at Matt Kahn’s example within the home, fish in the tank don’t live forever. They only live a short amount of time before erosion takes place. After awhile, renewal starts with the purchase of new fish. Showing the renewal and erosion in this example, you will be preparing not only your child’s heart, but their mind to live through the contrasts in their lives.
Seeking something with no appreciation of the opportunity can cause one to shut down. Some children can be seeking a certain way to exist within the clicks at school, but sometimes the constant seeking can leave our children socially awkward. We must help them see that their circumstances in their norm of life does not give them self worth, however as they seek and show their gratitude, they will enter the normalcy of renewal and erosion.
Erosion & Renewal Go Together
For example, sometimes our children live in an environment of wealth or underprivileged. Because of their thoughts of each, it becomes the truth for their lives. It is our responsibility to help our children become aware that whichever circumstance they live, each has a renewal and erosion aspect. As they practice being grateful in both circumstances, they learn to live fruitful in either renewal or birth of something as well as the death or erosion of another.
When it comes to teaching erosion and renewal, it is important that we teach our children that we will never stay in one situation of renewal or erosion. It is a natural order that these two exist because of each other. There will never be all renewal or all erosion. Life has both and our job as parents is to guide and teach our children the way through both is in the most positive way. We want them to avoid letting fear take over when erosion comes about. We don’t want our children to abandon life because they don’t know how to live within both renewal and erosion.
“Erosion is the Garage Sale”
When it comes to their learning in school, one year your child may be experiencing high scores and grades for reading and comprehension but lower scores in math and science. It is only natural that our brain concentrates on the unknown and begins to increase on the ideas that take more of our time.
As they venture through each grade level, this is common so parents need to let it take its course. As your child begins to learn new things and puts their attention on one avenue, the other will suffer. However, parents shouldn’t see this suffer point as negative, but as a learning point to practice to endure. As we put our minds on one thing, we must realize that other thoughts are not being produced at that moment, but will have a chance to flourish in later learning.
As parents, we want to help our children see the give and take when it comes to renewal and erosion. If we only concentrate on renewal, our children may get lost in erosion later in life. A great example of this on a youngster’s radar is moving from one grade level to another. The renewal of a new classroom as they advance to the next grade level also comes with the erosion or death of a grade level and group of friendships already lived.
In order to help our children grow in this concept, it is our actions of showing our children how to be thankful for both. As a mom, we can state, “Wow, look at all the wonderful things you learned while in that past grade. I’m so grateful to your teacher for everything she taught you and your classmates. You get to take all that knowledge with you to the next classroom.”
“Renewal is More Inventory”
In addition to praising the erosion, we can show respect to the renewal of moving up a level and acknowledging all the new friends and lessons that are waiting on the horizon to learn. Within both renewal and erosion, you can show your child that we can live in both situations and have the same positive demeanor.
As children meander through this journey of learning, they can begin to accomplish the understanding of renewal and erosion which will help them become healthy and responsible individuals. It is our job to show them that one serves the other. Showing our children how to work through these two ideas helps them to learn how gratitude serves in these circumstances. We want them to see how life shuffles back and forth between the two. In the process of their practice, they become experts on staying positive no matter the circumstance.
** This blog was written after watching Matt Kahn’s YouTube video, Dissolving Sadness. Please take time to watch. Very informative.
