My twin boys are the cutest kids in the world.
I know, I know. You might mistakenly think that your kids are cuter. And you probably have a lot of evidence for that. But trust me, they don’t come close to Rumi & Owais.
The way these twin boys interact with each other and the cute back and forth conversations they have when they’ve warped into some imaginary world – that no adult could ever hope to truly understand or appreciate – are simply adorable.
And then, they whine.
And moan.
And complain.
And make crazy demands and requests.
About things that no adult could ever hope to reason with, understand or appreciate.
And within minutes, they’ve snapped out of it and they’re back to themselves again.
I’ve come to believe that one of the great secrets of parenting is to enjoy the moments of cuteness and fill your heart up with love for them as much as possible, as frequently as possible, before they decide to come along and burst that big love bubble and ruin it all.
For example, by complaining that the fruit you just washed and cut for them is now inedible, because you didn’t peel it, so they’re justified in having a complete meltdown and going on hunger strike. Or even worse, heaven forbid, the banana that was cut into perfectly even pieces has a slightly browning patch on one piece. (That literally just happened now as I write this on the kitchen dining table at my parent’s house.)
For some reason, I’m reminded of that scene from Crazy Rich Asians, where the Chinese boy is told by an elder at the table, “Finish your food! Don’t you know there are kids starving in America!”
What was I saying? Ah yes, our aim is to fill the heart up with love for them and cherish the fleeting cute moments while they last.
I’ve come to believe that feeling the love and immersing yourself in it fully, when it’s readily available, literally purifies the heart.
It naturally leads us into the deeper feelings of gratitude and presence, which as the Quran instructs us, is the secret to having more such moments to be grateful for.
Watching children play this way might even lead your heart into a deeper state of spiritual connection than a formal prayer.
I’ve been told that if you squint your eyes and zoom out of your role as parent for a minute, sometimes you can even find some cuteness in the midst of the moments of melt-down-craziness, but the jury’s still out on that one.
Now let’s see if I can get them to finish their plates, wash their hands and then get back to that weird and wonderful game they were playing, involving their feeding their inflatable balloon pets and taking them on a mountainous hike (up the steps) to a place where their animals can fully develop their super-powers.
In the meanwhile, if you want to deepen your love, appreciation and the presence you bring into your most important relationships, you’ll likely benefit from the “Enlightened Relationships” training:
