I saw this written somewhere recently: 

"Don't look for your old life, it isn't there." 

Today is my older son Louis’s fifth birthday (!).

And 5 years, 2 kids, 1 major move, and 1 pandemic later, those words have never felt truer.

I could write 1,000,000 words about becoming a mother, being a mother. And I still won’t come close to capturing what this practice of parenting is teaching me.

My children, all spirit and joy and presence and emotions worn on the outside. And relentless need and awe-inspiring wonder. Who take up most moments of my time, attention, energy (and money, let’s be honest!). Who have reorganized my DNA, reoriented my cellular structure. Who have helped me find my voice and my courage simply by their being here. And who make me keep learning, growing, getting more honest, owning my mistakes, all of it. Every single day.

Best teachers who ever were.

And still on this day, I have to reflect on who I am before, below, beneath, beyond my mothering.

It is so easy to forget.

Parent or not, we all wear official hats and introduce ourselves with our titles and relate to each other by our roles and our goals.

We all operate within “the story of me” so often we don’t even realize we are not our story.

So today, in the spirit of all that (and 5 days before my own birthday!), I remember:

This is why I'm he in 40 Early Mornings.

To give a bow and a nod and a kiss and raise a glass to so much of my "old life" so that I’m not constantly stuck in the story of me, before. (Or suspended in a plannicking story of worry and what might be in the future.)

So I can meet myself and who I am in this moment. Like I can meet myself, mySELF, right here.

"Don't look for your old life, it isn't there."

LEAVE A COMMENT — I WONDER FOR YOU — HOW DOES THAT FEEL? 

For me — that’s ignition, that’s true honest invitation. That’s IT,
Cath

p.s. As we round out our official time together, I invite you to take a few minutes to please share your final thoughts in our out-going questionnaire. Your input and experience are invaluable teaching tools to me. Thank you so much in advance.

DAY 31: EARLY MORNING MEDITATION —

Last day, your choice.

OR —

DAY 30: QUIET EVENING WIND DOWN PRACTICE (14 MIN)