We were finally leaving our house to explore Port Arthur in Tasmania when Aliya started crying because Marcel had apparently hit her. She turned back and said she wasn’t coming with us. So, we waited another 10 minutes until she was ready to join us again.

Meanwhile, Marcel asked if he could give away his soft toy Tasmanian Devil to a charity shop and if we could buy him an Echidna instead. We had bought him the toy just yesterday—he had been looking forward to it for so long—and last night, he suddenly decided he didn’t like it anymore, saying it wasn’t fun to play with. My mind immediately started creating stories: It costed so much money! And how dare he think he can just have another toy, just like that!

Thankfully, I didn’t say a word. I went inside and focused my mind on my body, doing gentle breathing as best I could. I felt a wave of heat rising through me. I took a deep breath and said:

“Yes, you can give away the Devil, but we won’t be buying you another toy.”

Of course, he went into full drama mode! Now it was Marcel who said he wasn’t coming with us. So, we waited and waited… He kept blaming me the whole time. I could feel the anger running through him, and he just wanted to drown in it. I’d had enough. Instead of looking inward to see what was being triggered in me, I snapped: “I’m done. I’m not going anywhere,” and went back inside.

I sat down, closed my eyes, focused on my solar plexus where I felt the tension. After a while I started breathing.

Eventually, all four of them came back, and Marcel threw himself on the floor, crying he didn’t want to be with us ever again. He reminded me so much of myself as a child. I knew in that moment that he just needed love. That’s what he really needed. So, I gave it to him. I was present with him.

After a while, I told Sylwester that I would stay with Marcel and he could take Aliya and Wiktor for a walk. Marcel went to bed. When the others were ready to leave the house again, I suddenly realized how much I wanted to join them, and I knew Marcel felt the same.

I went to him and said,

“Marcel, Daddy’s going out. I’m sure they’ll see a lot of interesting things. Shall we join them?”

He just looked at me.

“Marcel, do you want to be a victim or a creator?” I asked playfully.

He started smiling.

“Come on, we’d better hurry, they’re leaving!”

“Okay, but only if you go too,” he said.

“Okay, I will.”

We ended up going on an amazing 8-kilometer walk. We saw parrots, beautiful beaches with warm water, and we played with sticks, pretending they were our Echidnas. We explored the historic site of Port Arthur and had such a great time.

About an hour into the walk, Marcel turned to me and said,

“I’ve decided I want to keep the Tasmanian Devil. I’m going to play with it.”

“Okay! I’m really happy you came out of the house. You’re a true creator, do you know that?”

“Mum, what’s a creator?” he asked.

“A creator is someone who decides they want to have a different experience in life. It’s someone who chooses to love their life. That’s what you did! You felt the anger but then decided you weren’t a victim of your anger, that you weren’t your anger, and you came out to see beautiful things.”

“I did!” He exclaimed joyfully.