WOMAN ON HOLD

Motherhood is one of the leading forces on earth. There is no such energy and passion as the courage, devotion, and love of mothers to their offspring. Mother Nature is wise in teaching us that lesson. A feline mother is fearless when it comes to defending her kittens. Even the smallest bird exerts a courage inconmensurate with her size when it comes to facing her most fearsome opponents in order to protect her baby birds. Human mothers (most of them) experience a new level of conciousness when they bear life and bring new life into this world. There is no stronger sense of wholeness and merge with the universe and the power that is greatest than ourselves than when we become mothers. Enlightment happens. Happiness strikes. A new life begins, for both mother and child.

While all those pleasant feelings are being experienced during motherhood, the demands of our children on us are strong. Often times, we give up our bodies to bring them into this world. We nurture them, often times with our own bodies. They depend entirely on us for their survival, learning, amusement, and socialization. We are the centers of their universe and it is easy to get absorbed deeply into giving our whole selves to our children. The task of being a mother is not an easy one. No one works more hours, lives more sleep deprived, and is demanded so much attention than mothers. After a while of performing our motherly duties with complete devotion we cannot help to question whether the women we used to be still lives.

I call mothers “women on hold”. For a period of time (sometimes longer, sometimes shorter) our existence is focused entirely on our role as mothers. It is the natural thing to do, but also, different cultures teach, enforce, and demand the role of mothers to be an exclusive venture. For those who have a strong drive to be more than a mother, dilema strikes as the demands of motherhood seem to consume our cores.

There are a lot of strategies a woman can implement to feel like her humanity, separate from that one of child, is emerging, at least every once in a while. A lot has been written about that, and my intention with this writing is not to outline a plan. My message is to tell women they do not have to feel they have given up on themselves for the sake of motherhood. There will never be a more gratifying job in the world than being a mother. Sometimes, we just put ourselves on hold for a while to bring up those children that have been entrusted to us. If your womanhood is on hold, let her peek out regularly to see the light. She will wait but she also needs to be nourished, just like your offspring. She needs attention, pampering, to be listened to, attended to, cared for. She will wait for you to be ready to reclaim her. Comfort her and tell her she will not be on hold forever, just for a little while while you enjoy motherhood. And invite her, your woman on hold, to enjoy motherhood with you. She will treat you good when it is her turn to return the favor.

EL PODER DE LAS PALABRAS

Las palabras cargan un poder y una energía poderosa. Las palabras son extensiones de nuestra energía, de nuestro pensamiento, que ponemos a la disposición del mundo y quien las escucha o las lee. Las palabras tienen un poder por sí solas, a pesar de que la ejecución de las mismas depende del individuo. Cuando utilizamos la palabra indiscriminadamente podemos entrar en una disyuntiva cuando nuestra energía no es compatible con lo que decimos. El conflicto de no ser espejo de nuestras propias palabras nos afecta a nosotros a nivel personal y a los individuos en los cuales nuestra palabra tiene algún impacto. Muchos no se dan cuenta del poder tan inmenso de la palabra. No existe en nosotros los humanos capacidad mayor para explicar el significado de nuestra vida y lo que somos como individuos que la palabra. Nuestras acciones son reflejo de lo que somos, pero la palabra viene de quiénes somos, de nuestro centro y esencia. Idealmente, nuestras palabras son cónsonas con nuestras acciones. Que siempre nuestras palabras sean un retrato de nuestra alma para el que las escucha (incluyendo a nosotros mismos).

RENCORES

Life is too short to hold resentment...I have learned that. We are humans, and we cannot avoid feeling sad, blue, disconcerted, scared, angry, and doubtful at times...but certainly, we all create our own reality. Missery loves equal. Missery attracts equal. Although we cannot avoid to feel those less than pleasant feelings from time to time, we can all learn to let go of them quickly enough to go on with our lives and live them freely and fully. We choose for how long we want negativity to linger around. Lets not leave empty places in our hearts that can make way for pain, anger, resentment, hatred, arrogance, and pride. By learning to release we live in the moment and create better circumstances for our lives. Lets love and bless each day and each experience our days unfold for us. Lets love, and then love more.

My friend Glomarie sent me this text. Those words, I echo...

"Renuncia totalmente a los rencores, resentimientos o resquemores; no des espacio al odio en tu corazón. Niégate a intoxicarte con cualquier sentimiento negativo relacionado con el odio. Procura siempre alimentar tu espíritu con ideas, conceptos y sentimientos nobles, de perdón, de tolerancia, respeto a pesar de las diferencias y... de olvido. Notarás que día a día mejorará tu calidad de vida".

Y le agrego:

Válgale a cada día su propio afán. Todo a su tiempo...

BAD DAYS

How bad is a "bad" day? Only bad if we define them that way. Let all days be good days for learning, if for nothing else...

April 10, 2008
Finding The Gift
Bad Days

We all have days when it feels like the world is against us or that the chaos we are experiencing will never end. One negative circumstance seems to lead to another. You may wonder, on a bad day, whether anything in your life will ever go right again. But a bad day, like any other day, can be a gift. Having a bad day can show you that it is time to slow down, change course, or lighten up. A bad day can help you glean wisdom you might otherwise have overlooked or discounted. Bad days can certainly cause you to experience uncomfortable feelings you would prefer to avoid, yet a bad day may also give you a potent means to learn about yourself.

You may consider a bad day to be one where you have missed an important meeting because your car stalled or the dryer broke or you received a piece of very bad news earlier in the morning. Multiple misfortunes that take place, one after the other, can leave us feeling vulnerable and intensely cognizant of our fragility. Although bad days can only have a long-term negative effect on us if we let them, it is better to ask yourself what you can learn from these kinds of days. The state of your bad day may be an indicator that you need to stay in and hibernate or let go of your growing negativity.

Bad days contribute to the people we become. Though we may feel discouraged and distressed on our bad days, a bad day can teach us patience and perseverance. It is important to remember that your attitude drives your destiny and that one negative experience does not have to be the beginning of an ongoing stroke of bad luck. A bad day is memorable because it is one day among many good days. Otherwise, we would not even bother to acknowledge it as a bad day. Know, too, that everybody has bad days. You are not alone, the world is not against you. Tomorrow is a brand new day, greet it with love and watch it unfold into perhaps, a better day.

The Daily Om