I don’t know many Dhamma Parents, but the ones that I know always speak of the struggle to continue meditating with the added responsibility of parenting on their plate. Some parents meditate less. Some say they will start meditating again when their children are older. Some parents make major changes to their career goals to allow time to meditate. None of these choices seem ideal as the healthiest families I know prioritize love, and the best way I know to prioritize love is to meditate.
The problem always seems to be the limited amount of time we have in a day. Our routine daily responsibilities seem to take up most of the day causing the items we value most to be pushed further down the calendar. Unfortunately, it seems like a population of adults who did exactly what they were supposed to decade after decade are unfulfilled, depressed, and unmotivated.
So how do we change the paradigm? How do we make it possible to take care of our mundane responsibilities while investing enough time in meditation to develop the loving life we dreamed of. I wonder how children would turn out differently if they saw the adults in their life prioritizing meditation. Would they feel abandoned for two hours a day, or would the appreciate and emulate the actions of their parents?
I often hear newer meditators flirt with the idea of becoming a monk because they so badly want to prioritize dhamma into their lives. Instead of the all or nothing question of becoming a monk, I wonder if there are alternate ways to practice being a good householder. I know I’m not ready to become a monk, and I know I would like to raise a loving family, but I’m still trying to discover how to be the best householder I can. If you have any suggestions, please let me know. Time to meditate.
