Frustration is a powerful feeling. When I get frustrated, I am angry, upset, sad; I feel powerless in the situation. I have been getting frustrated a lot this past week; there are a lot of external stressors in my life right now, and I am doing my best to not let them get to me.

I have found that this frustration is effecting Little Man in a negative way. I was telling my accountabilibuddy this morning that I see him picking up on my emotions. When he gets clingy, I am unable to do anything because he wants to just be in my arms, so he knows that he is safe, Mummy is here, and he is all right. I have really started to step back and take some time to smell the roses this week, because it is not fair for me, or Squatch, to let our negative emotions flow onto Little Man. He is too small to understand what is going on, and he does not know how to express emotions yet, either.

Accountabilibuddy and I were marvelling at how our children are mirrors into ourselves. They pick up on what we are feeling, and are more likely to call us out on being frustrated or angry or sad, even when we may not realize where we are at in our emotional journeys. Frustration is also more than just one emotion; it is several of them fighting with one another, competing for the main stage. When Little Man gets clingy, I’m not paying attention to my emotions and they are passing on to him; the same for Accountabilibuddy and her little ones. The anger, fear, sadness are passing on to them, and they don’t know or understand how to handle the emotions.

I spent a lot of time outside with Little Man this week, grounding myself (and him) with nature. We went on several UTV rides on the trails around the lake, hearing the sounds of the water and animals, feeling the sand between our toes and water on our legs, seeing the different animals, smelling the changing weather on the wind (you can truly tell when it is going to rain). We played on the porch when it was raining, and felt the raindrops on our skin, and smelled the fresh earth after the rain ended (did you know that smell is called petrichor?).

I went to yoga on the beach Saturday morning, and it was the best thing I could have done for myself. I knew I was getting stressed and frustrated, and was doing a good job at expressing my anger for the most part, but I was still holding some of it in. Going to yoga, and becoming one with nature was a much needed time out for myself. The sounds in the background: boats driving by, waves hitting the shore and the boats docked at the marina, birds (so many different bird calls), cicadas, the wind blowing through the trees; the sounds reminded me of just what a small piece of this puzzle of life I truly am, and how minor my troubles may be.

I did some yoga poses this morning before Little Man woke up, just listening to him and Squatch breathing on the bed, hearing the rain hit the roof of the house, even hearing my own heartbeat in stillness of the early morning hours. My frustration faded away, and I was able to identify just what the unique stressors were, and why they were affecting me. I started my day knowing where I could focus my anger, and had a plan for any other situations that may arise for me to be able to vent appropriately.

What is your solution to frustration? How do you know you are frustrated? Have you identified the actual emotions you are feeling? Take some time to reflect on yourself and your emotions, and come up with a plan to bring yourself back to that “good space,” where you are ready to deal with whatever may come at you, and you are not living in that emotion all day.