Your other half is worth getting to know.
Those nights you spend teaching your children the subtle beauty of moonlight.
How darkness reveals another piece of our existence if you’re still and quiet. How to draw your breath down slow and silent as you listen for the pulse within the shadows.
We spend nearly half our existence in the dark.
Develop your children’s “night vision” so they won’t fear the shadows when their children want to walk in the dark.
As a young boy the night always frightened me and as I became a father I remembered that fear and asked myself what would be the easiest way to teach my children that the dark can be an equally magical place as the brightest day.
So, where did I start?
I declared Friday nights and most full moons official “Night School” nights and got out into the world.
I started with walks around the block, to the beach, to the park.
Only three rules existed.
- Keep Silent
Within the darkness a world awaits but only for those whom are willing to listen. Without the hustle and bustle of everyday life, the world after hours is worth hearing, be sure to explain to your kids the magic of a silent second spent using your ears to discover the things we miss while our mouths are open.
- No flashlights unless you needed them
Our night vision kicks in pretty fast if left alone, if you don’t really need a flashlight then don’t use one. Allow your eyes to work for their prize and see what the shadows have to offer.
Kids love that first lesson that humans have a small degree of night vision and so giving them these “real time” lessons keeps the magic fresh and fun while training their eyes and therefor their minds to recognize common shapes within the shadows. The more their minds see the world through a darker hue the less their minds will project what they fear into the shadows.
- No flashlights to the face
Cant keep that night vision in peak performance with a white bright flashlight frying the last five days like a played out Men In Black VII “Agent E phones Agent T”.
So, to sum things up and to keep things short.
Get those kids out under the moon for sport
Let their eyes open up and drink in the darkness for a mind with only light cant comprehend a world that can live without it.
