The biggest hurdles in our adult lives are the lessons we failed to learn as children. The concepts and ways of being that perhaps weren’t modeled to us, but would have been helpful to our experience if they had been, are what we spend years learning to embody later. Our modern day schools teach us all things biology and math, but self-love is a topic we’re left to dissect on our own. Hence, it’s a topic, or struggle rather, that circulates into adulthood.

But as conscious adults we can incorporate this teaching into our children’s lives so that they’re well equipped for the things we weren’t.

The best way to communicate self love to your children is by showing it to them. A mother who prioritizes her self care and morning routine, and states her needs, for example, shows her children that their time is valuable and worthy of crafting as well. It gives them permission to say, “I’m taking time for myself,” and to feel ok about it. This simple act silently communicates the love for one self and the dedication to that love. Bear in mind that how you talk to, look at, and behave towards your own self is also teaching your children how to approach themselves.

Your children benefit from hearing you talk about, and value, their strengths, while also recognizing their weaknesses. This teaches them that we all have strengths and weaknesses and that we equally belong despite them. The weaknesses that can be refined should gently be solved as problem-solving fosters self-love. Keeping in mind, correction of children’s attitudes should be done with patience and focus so you don’t demotivate them in their self-love journey.

Talk to children about hobbies and activities that make them feel good, and create healthy habits for their body and mind. Taking care of themselves will innately make them feel good, boosting the way they feel about themselves. Teach them to prioritize these hobbies as a way to honor themselves. In turn, through fulfillment of sports and activities, children learn confidence which also contributes to self-love.

Finally, communicate openly with your children. Explain to them the “Why,” behind certain choices and decisions, and teach them to express the same. Try to relate to them and nourish their wild ambition instead of allowing your adult limitations to limit them also. Children dream big because self-love is an innate quality, until we learn otherwise.

Oftentimes, the simplest of beauty is the most potent, and yet, most easily forgotten.

When was the last time you thought about glow worms? Got excited about their beautiful light? Or has life taken you so far away from simple happiness you learned to believe that only grand gestures are worth celebrating? What would your life be like instead if you gave time and space to the mysterious unfolding of life, as well as the creatures that fulfill it?

Like glow worms, or fireflies, for example.

Glow worms, also known as “fireflies” are not worms at all. They are adult beetles that control whether they emit their light as flashes or as a constant glow. The colors can include red, yellow, orange, or green.

There are over 2,000 species of fireflies. Depending on the species and the life-cycle stage, the glow is used to warn-off predators, attract mates, or to attract prey.

Adult female glow-worms have a large, light-producing organ at the end of their abdomens. At night they use a bright, steady stream of yellowish-green light to attract flying males. During the day they burrow underground to avoid predators. A female will climb to a high point, such as a grass stem, and turn her glowing light upwards. This ensures that she is as visible as possible to flying males. Their lights are bioluminescent, which is the natural production of light by an organism created by a chemical reaction.

Fireflies are also the Spiritual representation of Kindred Spirits. They emit the essence of attracting that which we desire. So next time you spot a firefly —  pause, and pay attention. Let them serve as reminders of simple beauty, big magic, and wild visions!