So one day...I got fed up.
I was tired of seeing my young son (who was 5 at the time) running about outside, slashing and hacking at the poor plants in the yard. He was playing yet another game of “good guys vs bad guys”.
I had told myself in the past, that this was perfectly normal (much to the dismay of my plants).
However it got me thinking....If this was pretty normal young kid behaviour, and even more normal young boybehaviour... then why did it bother me so much? It bothered me beyond feeling sorry for my plants and beyond feeling frustrated at continually reminding my little boy that “the plants have feelings too, and you should be kind to them so they grow...not thrash them to pieces”...
I have always tried to practice conscious parenting. Not always successfully, but you know, tried to get better at it as I go along. Being 100% conscious of all your patterns of belief, good, bad and ugly that you hold and what gets passed down to you from your own parents and what ever society indoctrinates you with, just to name a few, is a big task. Human beings are so conditioned that it's not easy to pull the rains on all those galloping horses.
When you do grow up, and have your own babies, most of us like to think, that, we want to do it better than what our own parents did (bless them all). I'm sure most, if not all parents in the course of history, do the best they can with what they have. No body gets it completely right. Some get it quite wrong...but there are reasons for everything. Some just, some not.
To circle back to my beautiful son...What bothered me the most, was this “THEME” of good guys vs bad guys. It was the most common. It dominated almost every aspect of his play. I'd make suggestions such as “How about... everybody decides to be best friends and builds a cubby house together?...or have a picnic?”. My suggestions were usually met with no more than a brief glance in my direction and a dismissive “Neah...” before he was off slashing away at my plants again with his imaginary sword, or knife, or something equally as destructive in the weaponry department.
Ughhhh....so violent! Where did this level of violence in play come from? Of course we all know where...They are all saturated in it. Violence is in almost everything they watch and hear and read in their entertainment world. Its no secret. I thought this is such an old tired paradigm. Kids need a new one.
No more violent AND repetitive kids stories! At least not in my house anymore...
No more good guys vs bad guys, us vs them. No more enemy to perpetually fight. This kind of mentality in general divides us. Divides us all, and it this kind of belief starts so young. A reinforced polarised world view.
I mused to myself in that moment, how kids really needed something that helped them expand beyond this kind of conditioning. They needed more stories that facilitated their growth and development on many spectrum's. Kids needed more tools for healthy emotional development and some new options offered to assist them in breaking free from this current limited narrative.
So I stopped playing defence, and started playing offence. I began writing. I wanted to write some new stories for my son. I wanted them to be in alignment with his wants and needs. They needed to be fun and exciting and full of adventure...without the violence.
Turns out it wasn't that hard. With my pen in hand (yes I said pen, not laptop) and many, many notepads (once again, the ones made of paper, not the digital kind) … The stories started pouring out of me. Children's adventure stories that where full of magic and mysteries.
To get started, all I had to do is make my lead character...my Son. Stories flowed so easily from his character, inspired by him and his unique qualities, talents, interests and struggles.
I began writing a few short stories a week for my little boy, and reading them to him as I went. He would get so excited to find out what happens next to him, in his own story, that sometimes he would help me with ideas and I would weave those ideas into his chronicle.
...And with that...”The Adventures of Ezekiel” was born.
I have now embarked upon a new career and have since written two Season's of 'The Adventures of Ezekiel”. Season One has since been edited, scripted and recorded into an Audio-book/ Podcast/Radio show. It is due for release early this year, so keep an ear out for some fun stories that are aimed at ages ranging from 6 to 12 years. These stories have been Beta tested on the wonderful students of Tuntable Falls Community School... and I'm so glad to say it has been a hit!
I'll keep you all up to date with the in's and outs of my journey, I love you Nimbin and thank you for your wonderful support.
Holly.