The Swing of Life

How can we help our children (and ourselves) make sense of the way life swings? We're all up and down and side to side at different times for different reasons.
The Swing of Life is the story of a little girl who wants life to feel good ALL the time. Her mother helps her to see that life is full of contrast-the "bad" and the "good" help us define our desires-and ultimately, we get to decide what meaning we give to all of it. To swing in our emotions and mental health *is* to be human. That's all ok and how it should be; and it's also exactly why we need one another.
Just as we wouldn't judge trees for being bent and shaped by the weather, so too, people are bent and shaped by the conditions they grow up in. If we can stay present in our bodies, and remember our inner light despite the weather of life, we can remain whole, connected, worthy, and good inside.