Here & Now | Vital Roots 008

An excerpt inspiring today’s journal:

Birthing From Within by Pam England & Rob Horowitz
Chapter: Don’t Give Birth Without A Doula!

“I once helped a first time mother through labor. Near the end of labor, the mom curled up into a squat against a couch. It was apparent she had reached complete dilation and was beginning to push. She told me she could not move to the bed; I called the nurse, who called in the doctor.

The young doctor walked in and gasped when he took in the scene. He looked over at the nurse and said pleasantly ‘We need to get her in the bed. We can’t have her pushing on the floor!’ I explained to the doctor that the mother had just told me she couldn’t get up and move to the bed, and that she wanted to deliver her baby right where she was. The doctor looked at me with a worried expression and said, ‘Well, I haven’t ever delivered a baby like this—in a squat on the floor.’ I answered softly, ‘That’s okay because she never has either.’

We both smiled. He said ‘Okay’ and got down on his knees and attended the birth. It was a beautiful birth.’ – Cameron Benjamin, doula

Women are amazing, especially in support of one another as they encourage each other to fulfill their heart’s desires. The doula in the quote above changed the outcome for the expecting mother as she stood by her side and respected the woman’s directly communicated desire.

When you are empowered, you can deeply impact the lives of those in your company by being in tune with what the moment is asking of you. You may find that planting your feet firmly in the happenings of the present is where the mystery begins to unfold with ease.

The journey of womanhood is ultimately a selfless endeavor. If you are poised to be a mother in any capacity, you will experience this selfless nature first hand.

Over the past few years I have been consciously preparing for pregnancy & the beginning of our family. Only very recently have the feelings of surrender started to come from a place outside of myself. There is always something to be nurturing, healing, or resolving from the past and yet I am softening more to what’s going on right now than ever before. Yes, there are mood swings that still happen when I am about to bleed and sometimes the hormonal flushes have me simmering in a dark slush for a few days.

I’m sensing a force beyond myself taking the reigns and softening my heart where it had otherwise been hardened.

In general, the process is one that is proving a few things to me, as stubborn as I might be in accepting them as true:

• I’m not in control, I’m a conduit

• I can suffer in joy

• The present moment is fundamentally shaped by my perspective

• God’s timeline overrides man’s timeline

On the journey of womanhood and motherhood, you can either be stuck in the past, worried about the future, or sturdy in right now. This is one of the pillars of how healing as a woman is a primarily spiritual process… perpetually and presently anchored. Not only are you cultivating presence, you are also strengthening your will against the self-sabotage of dwelling on the past or feeling paralyzed by the what ifs. Tuning into the selfless state of womanhood requires you to be where you are, exactly how you are and who you are.

The times we’re living are requiring steadfastness and honesty. For every moment is a potential moment of truth or a potential moment of deception. Running from the moment in the mind doesn’t take you away from what life is asking of you in the physical.

A classic phrase comes to mind: the only way out is through.

Selflessness is about attending to the present moment, giving your best to the highest possible outcome of now. Selflessness doesn’t waver due to a past wound or a hypothetical outcome. So, giving your body up to become the portal through which a new soul gets to come Here is the most incredible expression of the call of the selfless state of womanhood.

Conception happens in the now, not yesterday or tomorrow… and the baby slides through the birth canal all the same. Where you are right now is where it’s all happening and you get to decide how you respond, every moment of every day.