Every time I have a baby (well, that was twice, so I can say “every time” 🙂 … every time I have a baby, for a few months before and right after giving birth, I find myself in an extra potent state of awe, reverence for this life… and babies… and the human body, and how things work in this Universe…
(she inhales deeply and exhales with a smile on her face…)
Maybe that’s because of the survival instinct in the midst of sleep deprivation, or maybe it’s because you are forced to slow down; you start to view things around with more clarity and with more wisdom. So, no matter what I am doing – signing mortgage papers while in labour (yup, that happened) or sit in my rocker chair for hours, nursing this little human, no matter what I do, I can say with certainty that “everything is going to be ok”.
You know, the monkey-mind? It quiets down. No room for the monkeys in this state of awe. I guess, these two don’t mix – you either are worrying and over-thinking or you are admiring the magnificence of this life. And no, it’s not an existential crisis… lol… I guess, it’s the opposite…what would be the opposite? An existential breakthrough? 🙂
What do I mean by that, and how is that worth a blog post? Here’s how:
…but first, think of a problem you are experiencing in your life right now…. or, let’s call it “an issue”… something you “want to change/be different” – something you are worried about.
You know how they say “how we do anything, is how we do everything.” You know why that is? That’s because every experience you go through teaches you the same thing. i.e. all things work exactly the same, life is much, much simpler than we make it be…
For instance – since I am in the baby-mode right now… I noticed how often we, new moms/parents, talk about the “problem” with our babies… not sleeping through the night, not being “on a schedule”, we can’t wait for a predictable “nap time”… etc.
This, of course, makes things even more stressful when we think that all of those things are “problems“…. but if we think from the baby’s perspective – it’s all totally normal and babies are just not supposed to be doing all the things we are expecting them to do in the first few months of their lives. We, however – driven by our need to control things – want things to be, well, controlled, and that ain’t gonna happen with babies…. hence, “baby blues” and post-partum anxiety, etc.
Now, back to your problem/issue. Think of it from “the baby” perspective… is it truly, really, for real, a PROBLEM? Or is it something to be expected, and much needed to go through, in order to “get to the next level” of whatever you are doing/going through? Just like babies – they need to learn to trust this world, they need to learn to eat and process the food and they need to “learn” to poop… (yes, poop is always on mom’s mind :).
Whatever you are going through – that “issue”… What IF it’s not an issue at all, but a part of the process? What if it’s much needed and it serves the purpose of growth? (In whichever capacity that may be, but it’s always growth.)
Just like this baby, on my lap, became a baby from a tiny seed – she didn’t need to worry or “make it happen” or put herself on a “schedule” – she didn’t have plans and projections on how to become a baby… :).
And because “how we do anything, is how we do everything” … for that very reason “your issue” is also going to “resolve itself”… if you just be, trust, surrender, listen, and then do the work. In that particular order. Just like the baby – she still needs to do some work to get that poop out, you know! 🙂
Be smart, just like babies – surrender, and grow into whatever you are meant to become (despite that problem). And you know what else? Remember that we all are just that – big babies (no matter how old 🙂 learning, growing and needing to be loved. (More on that here >) 🙂
xo
p.s. pardon my typos. because sleep deprivation.
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