Edie Weinstein – If I Knew Then What I Know Now

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Life Lessons From Adults To Children
Today’s Guest – Edie Weinstein

I actually do this exercise in workshops that I call “What I Wish I Knew When I Was You” as I encourage people to speak to younger versions of themselves. I do it myself often (:

First and foremost, I would share with young people that they are love incarnate, that they need not earn love by being ‘good boys and girls’. They get to be loved….just because. They are good enough AS IS and don’t have to be what someone else wants them to be to earn approval. Yes, there are rules we all need to follow to get along, like not saying or doing mean or hurtful things on purpose, like taking care of the planet, like being kind to each other and the other beings with whom we share the world, like cleaning up after ourselves, like acting responsibly. I would also remind them that their bodies belong to them and that no one touches them without permission, including those who are ‘supposed to’ take care of them. (Among other things, I am a therapist who has worked for 30 some years with abuse survivors and have seen the impact of physical and sexual abuse. The same respect is to offered to others…no means no…

Taking care of their bodies is important too; eating healthfully, being smoke free, exercising, not getting caught up with drugs and alcohol. Healthy relationships, good communication, being independent, being in integrity are core values as well. I am learning (at 54) that I didn’t need to earn approval and I could have saved a great deal of confusion in relationships. I am learning that I am indeed enough AS IS. I am learning to take better care of myself. Yes, I have shared these values with my own son who I raised solo since my husband died when Adam was 11 and I also express these thoughts with other children including my nephews and niece.

Edie Weinstein, Bliss Mistress, By Divine Design, www.liveinjoy.org