Comments on: The Other Mother http://www.mamarenew.ca/blog/2009/12/the-other-mother/ Exploring the journey of birth, motherhood, and life as a family. Thu, 08 Dec 2011 18:27:32 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 hourly 1 By: Jill SS http://www.mamarenew.ca/blog/2009/12/the-other-mother/comment-page-1/#comment-1406 Jill SS Sat, 02 Jan 2010 09:28:22 +0000 http://www.mamarenew.ca/blog/?p=3427#comment-1406 The best lesson my mother ever taught me was about life balance. She taught me that life balance was like a juggling act with various kinds of balls. Glass balls that will shatter if you left them fall and rubber balls that will bounce right back into play. The challenge is not to juggle ALL the balls, it is to figure out, at any given moment, which things are glass balls and which are rubber. when things are hectic I use this metaphor to sort life out. When things arise I ask myself if it is glass or rubber. Certain things, (my kids, my health, my relationship with my husband) are always glass. Other things, like work, are sometimes glass, but mostly rubber. It doesn't mean that the rubber balls are less important, it just reminds me that if I already have a lot of glass balls up in the air, I can give myself permission to let the rubber ones drop for a time, knowing I will be able to pick them up again and they will be just fine. It also reminds me that the glass balls are delicate, need to be protected and cherished, and warrant special attention. The best lesson my mother ever taught me was about life balance. She taught me that life balance was like a juggling act with various kinds of balls. Glass balls that will shatter if you left them fall and rubber balls that will bounce right back into play. The challenge is not to juggle ALL the balls, it is to figure out, at any given moment, which things are glass balls and which are rubber. when things are hectic I use this metaphor to sort life out. When things arise I ask myself if it is glass or rubber. Certain things, (my kids, my health, my relationship with my husband) are always glass. Other things, like work, are sometimes glass, but mostly rubber. It doesn’t mean that the rubber balls are less important, it just reminds me that if I already have a lot of glass balls up in the air, I can give myself permission to let the rubber ones drop for a time, knowing I will be able to pick them up again and they will be just fine. It also reminds me that the glass balls are delicate, need to be protected and cherished, and warrant special attention.

]]> By: Abby http://www.mamarenew.ca/blog/2009/12/the-other-mother/comment-page-1/#comment-1397 Abby Thu, 31 Dec 2009 08:04:58 +0000 http://www.mamarenew.ca/blog/?p=3427#comment-1397 Today I was blessed with the opportunity to walk a labyrinth with friends and colleagues. As I walked, I just noticed myself, my body, my thoughts, my emotions. "hmm, isn't it interesting how I hold back...how I procrastinate?" and "oh, isn't it intersting how I wait for others to finish before taking my place...what is stopping me?" and "I'm not walking meaningfully enough, I must not take this seriously, I need to be more serious abou this!" So many judgements (and tears) on my journey into the labyrinth. Something funny happened though. In the middle, as I waited for someone to finish before I stepped "into my glory" (oh yes, the meaning I attribute to something as simple as the middle of a labyrinth) I looked around. There was everyone else...simply on their journey. Here I was, just on my journey. I looked out the window. There were trees, just doing there thing. A huge smile erupted on my face. I played with the way I walked out of the labyrinth. Sometimes I walked purposefully or took littles teps, or moved quickly. I spun. NO! Yes, I did!! I swayed, I bopped in time to the music. Not one thing I did changed the spot on which I stood. But I sure had fun. I'm glad I had that palpable shift today, if only for a moment. I was right back to judging myself later for this and that (always for my dishes that are never done in spite of the fact that I intellectually know that dishes are never done. Like laundry.). Anyway, that shift...it was reminiscent of the feeling I get when I stop to smell the roses. We just are. Today I was blessed with the opportunity to walk a labyrinth with friends and colleagues. As I walked, I just noticed myself, my body, my thoughts, my emotions. “hmm, isn’t it interesting how I hold back…how I procrastinate?” and “oh, isn’t it intersting how I wait for others to finish before taking my place…what is stopping me?” and “I’m not walking meaningfully enough, I must not take this seriously, I need to be more serious abou this!” So many judgements (and tears) on my journey into the labyrinth.

Something funny happened though. In the middle, as I waited for someone to finish before I stepped “into my glory” (oh yes, the meaning I attribute to something as simple as the middle of a labyrinth) I looked around. There was everyone else…simply on their journey. Here I was, just on my journey. I looked out the window. There were trees, just doing there thing. A huge smile erupted on my face. I played with the way I walked out of the labyrinth. Sometimes I walked purposefully or took littles teps, or moved quickly. I spun. NO! Yes, I did!! I swayed, I bopped in time to the music. Not one thing I did changed the spot on which I stood. But I sure had fun.

I’m glad I had that palpable shift today, if only for a moment. I was right back to judging myself later for this and that (always for my dishes that are never done in spite of the fact that I intellectually know that dishes are never done. Like laundry.). Anyway, that shift…it was reminiscent of the feeling I get when I stop to smell the roses.

We just are.

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