In the fall, during one of my Mindful Kids club meetings, I sent the kiddos outside to collect leaves that had fallen from the trees. Running around outside is something kids don't do as often anymore because of technology. They weren't sure why they were asked to collect leaves, all they knew was that they were thrilled to get some fresh air. Some of the children were distracted and quickly handed me old, brown, crumpled leaves. We flattened all of the leaves in books and when they returned to club two weeks later, I had laminated all of their leaves. I handed them out and asked them to draw with sharpie markers on the laminated leaves. They drew happy, sad, or angry faces on them, assigning emotions to the leaves. Then, I asked them to make a mandala using the leaves on our chalk board. They were giggling as they grabbed as many leaves as possible to decorate.
Once I had laminated the leaves, the kids were paying more attention to the color and shape of the leaves. I explained to them how although they were the same old leaves that they found outside, they were now polished and purposeful looking.
The important lesson is to embrace all of our phases. We called our decoration "mandala of leaves." Mandalas are circular designs symbolizing cycles of life. As our emotions fluctuate, we may find ourselves feeling dull like the old crumply leaves. Or, we may be distracted and overstimulated like the bright yellow leaves. Sometimes we are fragile, and at other times we are polished and feeling purposeful. Regardless of your current state, it is important to cultivate awareness of your emotions. Cultivating awareness allows your emotions to come full circle and bring you back to peace. What have you learned from your changing emotions? How can change your perspective? These are concepts that I attempt to address using leaves and mandalas as symbolism.
