Momful Mindfulness

I play video games.  More than that, I love video games.  From my perspective, they give the experience of walking through art (the ones I play anyway).  I enjoy video games for multiple reasons.  They have taught me a lot about my emotions, what triggers them, and how to help control them through playing.  I use a handheld controller so there’s a thumb joystick that moves the camera as you walk so the player can experience various viewpoints as well as the character.  There’s a lot of hand-eye coordination that must happen in order for the play through to even happen.  I can still remember the first time I attempted to play with a controller…I was looking straight up for a long time before I got the hang of it.

Learning’s Fun

Slow Motion

My Son is showing interest in video games.  I was very happy to watch him explore and learn the game in the same way I did (only he mastered the mechanics much faster than myself).  One of his favorite places to go is an arcade entertainment center and when he grabbed my hand and handed me the ghostbuster vacuum-gun-thing, I was ready.  We proceeded to suck ghosts, gold coins, and other treasures into our vacuums while calling out who was getting what ghost and what our next objective is, while making sure our credits are adequately populated within the machine.  In the middle of this controlled chaos, I had a moment.  These moments feel like a slow motion scene in a movie where time seems to crawl, senses are more aware, and I recognize this is a memory making opportunity.

The second came in the middle of the controlled chaos of the game.  The team work we had formed in a very short time was impressive, from my biased perspective, but still impressive.  He was having a little bit of a time with his confidence in playing various games throughout the arcade so when he chose this game for us, I wanted to make sure he had a good time.  I was actually having to concentrate on this game because I had a button, trigger, and a pulling in various directions action to master in order to properly dispose of the ghosts and collect the necessary treasure.  After I understood the necessary steps, I then proceeded to be my Son’s cheerleader.  We called out to one another who was getting which ghost or treasure and we helped each other keep the credits going for one another when one of us ‘died.’  Nothing in particular happened to spur the recognition process, there was a stillness I felt between us, a calmness that resonated and grew.

Breath

When I felt it, I caught my breath because it caught me by surprise.  This was a first for the both of us so I couldn’t help but wonder if that’s where the feeling originated from, but as I kept quietly observing, I understood it was something deeper.  It was a growing understanding between the two of us.  It was a growing acknowledgement of the understanding of one another.  The preciousness of this realization almost brought tears to my eyes, but I couldn’t allow that wave of emotion to consume me because I had some more ghosts to capture!  

The moment subsided but it was there, I felt it, I opened my senses and took in as much as I could.  The sound of the video game, its songs, sound effects, the clicks from the buttons; the smell of the arcade, pizza, electronics, cotton candy; the feel of the controller in my hands, the way my son was yelling, “Pull back Mommy!!  You have to pull back!!”  All these sense memories are to help recall the unique and genuine feeling I felt at that moment, a quiet acknowledgement and understanding of one another.

Thank you for sharing this moment with me.  I hope you enjoyed it and look forward to more Mommy Mindfulness in the future!  Until next time, may everyday bring you mindfulness moments.  ~Namaste~