Our 31 days to the inner rhythm of the heart, the root foundation of a house of peace, is in progress.  In the vein of those who are setting a New Year’s intention with “one word”, I offer the word of today to you:  unity.  Read on for more…

Unity is an important piece to having a calm family life.  In the olden days, family members depended upon one another for help, for companionship, for laughter.  In our era of nuclear families and often very fast-paced lives, we often need to make a conscious decision to think about what really unifies us.  After all, even if we are in a family, we are all separate individuals with different temperaments and personalities.

To me, one of the best ways to start thinking about family unity or to “re-set” family life is to re-connect with the unity your family members have through shared values, shared purpose, shared work.

I have written time and time again about crating a family mission statement.  This can be such an important exercise for families to tackle in this era of “so many choices and so many things to do”.  What is the essential for your family?  Try these back posts for help here:  https://theparentingpassageway.com/2009/05/08/creating-a-family-mission-statement/  and here:  https://theparentingpassageway.com/2010/05/03/renewal-mission-statements/. What would help the most in making your home a calm place?  If you can meditate on that, think about that, dream that, and then bring it out through a shared mission statement, that can be so valuable for the atmosphere of your entire home.

How do you promote unity as a family? I really recommend a combination of working and playing together.  In American society, there is often this perception that children learn teamwork by playing sports, and that may be true in some sense, but the first team a child works on is in the home.  The family is a team and every member has a contributing part to family life and the care and nurturing of one another.  How do you view work in your home, and what role do your children play in this?

How do you play together?  Are you an active family, do you do puzzles, do you go for walks, do you read together, have game nights?

Most of all, when do you communicate best as a family?  Over a leisurely dinner, or that sweet time before the children fall asleep at night, or another time?  That shared time leads to family connection and unity.

Please share your best tips for creating a family of connection and unity.

Blessings,
Carrie