I'm grateful for my son's tantrums

It's better than you think
My teenage son's room is a bombsite. This afternoon he freaked out when he couldn't find his club uniform. I got both barrels of his temper - apparently it was my fault. It wasn't an ideal episode in my afternoon. But it resolved itself eventually, and as suspected, it was in amongst the debris in his room and with a little help he got things back on track.
 
I don't always, but today I helped him navigate it and managed to hold my patience and good grace, even in the face of a teenage tantrum. 
 
I'm attributing my greater abundance of patience directly to my yoga practice - particularly with what we have been threading through the classes this week.
 
Gratitude
The intentional turning of our minds towards things that are good in our lives, looking for the blessings in amongst the problems and challenges.
 
Even when on the receiving end of both barrels, I found it easy to be grateful for him caring about his uniform enough to get upset, and being healthy enough to express it so energetically. Sure, his expression needs finessing, but I'm so grateful that he is going to his club tonight and wants to look smart.

Simple but powerful
The simple but powerful act of bringing to mind the good stuff in your life for a moment or two is well worth cultivating. It might seem trite, it might seem like you're deliberately ignoring the bad stuff and being overly hopeful, but it really works. 
 
Most of us go easily towards what is negative in a situation, most of the time. Our inner critic takes over, we problem solve things that might best be left to work themselves out in their own time. We worry rather than allow patience to take the lead. 

Find the joy
Looking for problems and solving them is natural and helpful, and makes us more successful at navigating life. However, being overly involved in the problematic aspects of our life contributes to high stress levels, low mood, and most importantly, overlooks the abundant joy that life has to offer.
 
If you take the time to look, you might be surprised to realise that much of life is going great. Or at least fine. No-one's is perfect. But overlooking the blessings and good stuff is so easy to do.
 
Try it
Right now, there are far more things going right for you than are going wrong. It is up to you to name a few... before they go unnoticed. When you pause and take the time to count your many blessings, you'll find that they are in abundance, and all around you. 
 
This simple act of naming a few things that you are grateful for, done regularly, is a powerful practice. Spend a moment the next time you step on your mat and do this. Make it a habit of doing it daily at the start of your practice. Stick up a post-it note so you don't forget. And before you know it, it'll come much more naturally and easily, even in the midst of a challenge.
 
You're welcome.