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Mindful on Mothers Day
Being that Mother’s Day also falls in May it took me to thinking about being a mother and being mindful and how this expresses itself in my life.
I am fortunate enough to have two wonderful children – Ethan (13 yrs old) and Amy who is now 18 and our special needs girl.
This Mother’s Day was extra special to me as it fell Ethan’s 13th birthday.
I have always had a spiritual leaning and over the years I have found that my daily/weekly spiritual practices have been integral to me being able to be the best mother and person I can be.
Having a child with special needs makes you not only a parent overnight, but a carer and has demanded of me to grow as a person in so many ways – to become comfortable with difference, to accept that uncertainty is in fact the natural state of life, to see that love, patience, acceptance and gratitude among many other qualities are a choice and one that needs to be made daily, even hourly and that it is oh so important to be gentle on ourselves and to have compassion for our own humanity and failings.
I believe that life puts in our way exactly what we need in order to grow and evolve. To me that is in part what mindfulness means. To become aware, to become conscious on so many levels, of each moment, be that seemingly good or bad, of the greater context of events across the span of my life and even beyond. This is how I can truly experience the whole of what life has to offer.
It also means being able to draw on resources and be present with my children when I am with them. As many mothers who are also entrepreneurs will know, kids and business do not mix well, so being aware of this and being able to switch roles and frequencies quickly is a skill that I have honed over the years and it is not always easy. The worries and decisions of business can filter through into family life if I don’t keep very mindful of this.
My daily practices do include some forms of meditation, but truly the work of mindfulness for me is in each moment of my days, not to lapse into unconsciousness and automatic processes but to truly live and experience each moment of life each and every day. Simple to say, but not easy to do and through this practice, so much will be revealed.
Happy Mother’s Day to all.
Kate