Awakening in Motherhood Anthology
Awakening in Motherhood. This blog will be an invitation for many voices to come together to share stories/poems/drawings/whatever comes up in our reflecting on the theme of Awakening in Motherhood. I can envision a book coming out of this blog but for now giving voice to this theme feels like the place to start.
Awakening in Motherhood. Motherhood in my view is a spiritual path of the highest order and has awakened and reawakened many things in me which I will articulate in the next while now that I've created a place for this. I believe that we, as conscious (enough), evolving (enough), heart-centered mothers, benefit from reflecting on and sharing our experiences and our learnings. Motherhood is not meant to be a journey travelled alone -- the "hood" ending reminds me of the importance of the vibe of sisterhood in this path!
Wondering what to share?
Well, maybe the story you share is about the Awakening with a capital 'A' you experienced and how boom you're enlightened or what you see differently (-; or maybe it comes to you that you have awoken or are awakening a particular quality or virtue. Awakening ... to love, to spirit, to a renewed passion, to creativity, to a sense of home, to your intuition, to your bodies wisdom, to play, to nature, to intimacy, to joy, to wonder, to beauty, to gratitude, to the sense of your own authority in your life, to humility, to inner peace, to truth, to strength, to self-compassion, to power, to the moment, to wildness, to inner capacity, to life ... and to-gether .... in Motherhood. Maybe something your child said and did one day created a new perspective. Maybe a breakdown created a breakthrough.
In my own journey and in working with mothers one-on-one and in group for over 19 years I have found that it's a heroine's journey and this story will have all the elements of a classic in it before the end. (-:
Motherhood itself and our children are certainly asking us to wake up .. every. day. really ... to be with them and ourselves in the here and now ... truly. My mantra is "it's not about perfection it’s about connection" and that that connection really rocks when I remember that I need to plug into myself and something greater first ... be generous with the tenderness and care I give myself.
I have experienced that sometimes things need to fall apart/away for us to touch into the truth of who we are ... that sometimes in our mothering journey what is waking up can seem scary as life pushes us to step out of our comfort zone in some way and maybe also touch into a bigger range of emotions - joy and love but also anger, even rage, shame and fear. Our children's way is often messy as well as beautiful and wise - they help dismantle the image we have spent our life creating so we can discover who we really are and (woman alive!)... they give us frequent opportunity to heal what's left to heal of our past. (-:
I believe my children are masters in helping me in this task that Rumi talks about: “Your task is not to seek for love, but merely to seek and find all the barriers within yourself that you have built against it.” ~ Rumi
Yup, they are masters. Having children opened up that yearning to live and love more fully and freely and completely. When I embrace the opportunity to parent with breath and self-compassion through the arising of emotions like anger, fear, shame and guilt, the past has the opportunity to be healed and I am freer and my children are freer too. Whenever we meet these barriers that Rumi talks about (and the little ones in us that hold these barriers up) with qualities of kindness, patience, spaciousness, tenderness, compassion, acceptance and love we create a more loving, peaceful world. ...
What has the journey of Motherhood Awoken in you?
To submit something to add to this blog email it to growingmamalove@gmail.com xo
Be sure to include your name and website address and a picture if you'd like.
