Sometimes putting on a mask and a cape gives us bravery and courage we wouldn’t otherwise have to do something challenging. We sometimes have to put on a coat of bravery even when we are scared out of our wits because it’s new, scary, unknown, hard, or even intimidating. We play a litany of what if questions in our head and look for ways to avoid it but sometimes we can’t. Doing the hard or scary things in life is never easy and it can make us question who we are, what we can do or even what we’re made of.
When my son puts on play costumes and pretends he is a super hero, a knight or even an animal it gives him hours of fun and is a great joy to watch. Children love dressing up and taking on roles to act out in the great landscape of their imagination. They have epic knight battles with Nerf shooters and foam swords. They chase and hide, giggle and tackle. It’s fun to watch and I know there is a deeper meaning to this play that will one day serve him when the swords are sharp words and he meets the opponent or challenge he doesn’t think he can tackle. This fun play helps them build those skills of bravery and courage they will need in life to face the challenging and real situations that come up.
There is no way to really teach my son how to be brave or what courage is. Knowing he is watching me all the time gives me my own courage at times but it also adds a complexity to facing hard life things. What if I disappoint him? What if I fail and he sees that? Am I showing him the right way to be brave in this situation, even if underneath I’m sweating over it? There’s always this pressure to be of courage and put on a face of bravery.
Supporting Courage
Children, like adults, have feelings of being discouraged, overwhelmed, frustrated, afraid, scared and even confused. Life is all new at every turn and it’s now always a fun colorful path we find ahead. Sometimes we have to cross through the scary forest to get to the bright side.
I see my son’s frustrated face come on when he’s having a hard time getting homework done or feels he’s done his best on an assignment that doesn’t show in the grade he received. It’s heartbreaking because as a parent I want to make things easy for him, protect him from pain and let him be innocent of the harshness of the world for as along as possible. Yet, I know the earlier he learns how to deal with challenges and the feelings of being overwhelmed and frustrated the better equipped he will be for those hard balls of life.
In September 2018, doTERRA came out with a line of children’s oil blends that target the heart, mind and body of growing children. These oils provide the support structure to help them through the development of life and be in a good place as emerging adults for how to live well naturally. It is an absolutely beautiful set of oils that every child deserves to have access to in my opinion.
Within this collection is an oil blend called Brave. It is a sweet blend of Wild Orange, Amyris, Osmanthus and Cinnamon oils and diluted with fractionated coconut oil. The oil comes in a roller ball bottle to allow application of it to the feet bottoms, back of the neck, along the spine and anywhere the child would like.
Applying Brave
Smelling this oil from the bottle or when it’s been applied to the skin gives a child the ability to take a moment from the feeling of being frustrated and overwhelmed to find release. Perhaps that means they curl up in your arms or change tactic in completing a task.
There is a weariness we all feel from being overexerted from stressful frustration and lacking in confidence to do something. This tiredness effects our mood and energy resulting in an unwillingness to try or be interested in trying new things that we find hard or challenging. Applying the Brave oil to the back of the neck, forehead and feet bottoms gives support during these times and helps us refocus.
Sometimes when we are scared our stomachs also get upset. Emotions are tightly wound around our digestive system triggering nervous butterflies or even more unpleasant things like gas, stomach pain or cramps. Applying Brave to the stomach eases these symptoms so we get through the challenge more easily.
Homework Helper
When my son is frustrated he throws up his hands and wants to give up. Homework is too hard, he is tired from school or isn’t motivated to focus because he’s not confident yet in the new material. He doesn’t understand why things have to be hard and have to take so long to do sometimes. I appreciate his impatience to get schoolwork done so he can have free time. I love that playful spirit of him. It’s hard to get little boys of 7 to sit down and focus on homework after being in a classroom all day learning and getting very little free time to play only to come home and do more homework. I get it!
Before he starts homework I try to get him to apply Brave but if I can’t I found diffusing doTERRA Cinnamon and Wild Orange oils with a drop of Peppermint is a great alternative. These oils combined together in a diffuser give a relaxing calm to the air that is also supporting focus and energy for hard tasks.
Interested in more?
Helping our children be brave and courageous is a tough parental trick. We all have things that we find discouraging and are afraid of but we can support how we deal with that naturally. Using oils in these situations won’t make the scary thing go away but it helps us focus, find the energy and determination to deal with it and come out braver.
If you have questions about the oils in this post, please reach out. I’m happy to help.
amyk@dragonspitapothecary.com
If you would like to purchase the doTERRA oils for children and start their natural health journey, click here:
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