Dear Friend,
I wanted to share the real reason why I teach mindfulness and wrote the book with 150+ mindfulness activities.
I feel a little nervous sharing this … but there’s a happy ending …
I promise :)
The reason I’m on this path and why I’ve tried …
over 200 mindfulness activities for kids …
is that …
My wife and I couldn’t conceive.
We decided to go for adoption after eight tough years of trying …
only to find out that adopting was a long process too …
something like 4+ years.
We decided to adopt a child with special needs.
And … to be honest, I felt inadequate.
My way of coping with the tremendous responsibility I felt …
was immersion in psychology,
neuroscience,
and finally kids mindfulness.
I wanted to do my very best to help the child.
And I learned quickly that mindfulness could help kids of all ages …
it could reduce anxiety …
help them calm down and build attention skills …
And help them nurture feelings of joy, happiness and kindness.
Figuring this out was a blessing, because …
I was worried sick that I wouldn’t be good enough.
We were in the adoption process for years.
I researched … and studied … got certified …
… and then …
To our great surprise …
something like a miracle happened!
Just two (!) weeks before we were going to get a child proposal from China …
Guess what happens?
My wife Hanna got pregnant!!
It shouldn’t have been possible.
But … WOW!
It sure felt like miracle!
I still remember all those strong emotions …
And it was bitter sweet in many ways!
We were afraid it wouldn’t work out …
and we felt sorry and sad for never meeting (or seeing)
the child we were going to adopt.
We couldn’t continue with the adoption …
due to laws here stating you can’t adopt when you’re pregnant.
Which made sense at least in this case …
because the child would have needed our full attention.
Luckily the child in China had not been introduced to us …
he/she had not heard of us …
and there was no connection built between us …
And we knew that the child would get another loving family just as quickly,
no question about it.
But still …
it was very painful … and amazing at the same time.
Long story short.
After another nine excruciating months …
and three (!) days in labour …
and an emergency C-section to boot …
Everything went well …
despite our fears!
I get goose bumps just thinking about it.
It was the worst and best day in my life.
I’ve never been so scared.
I wasn’t allowed in the emergency operating room,
and I had no clue what was happening.
BUT …
* Here’s the happy ending :-) *
We had a healthy baby boy!!
It felt AMAZING!
I remember how it felt holding him to my bare chest under my hoodie …
when we waited for my wife to recover.
And Hanna was okay, too!!
Our little baby boy had finally come to us <3
I’m so proud of my wife …
she did all the hard work – obviously :)
We’d had an amazing roller coaster ride and …
now … after all the research, studies and training …
I decided to continue on the mindful path.
I had figured out that any child would benefit from mindfulness :)
So, I quit my corporate day job and I decided to help my son …
and everyone else through my blog and courses …
and our book :)
That’s the real story behind my work. And I’m glad I got to share it with you.
Now, I hope my book, courses and my blog helps as many kids and youth as possible.
With love,
Chris