At the beginning of this year, I used Marianne Williamson’s piece about our deepest fear as the essence of my intentions for the year. It was all about leaving small behind and the disservice we do to others when we don’t shine our light and use our gifts. This turned into the more specific goals that I set for myself in 2018:
- Stand up, stand out, leap into my light
- Foster a grounding practice
- Protect my energy/health
I feel like I made progress (not perfection of course :)) on all of these throughout 2018. Little did I know when I set them that I would be pregnant shortly after and the journey to motherhood would force my hand on many of these.
I had to strengthen using my own voice/light to actively shape the world around me. I not only owed this to my child to give her the best possible world to thrive in but knew that role modelling this was one of the gifts that I could give her.
My reading time (intention for the grounding practice) started out pretty good and got a little stagnant toward the latter half of my pregnancy and the first month of being a new mom. I think I read about the same number of books (around 20) as I did in 2017. I’m exploring audiobooks for 2019. We’ll see how this goes. My pregnancy forced me to find other ways to slow down, including incorporating baths as part of my weekly routine. Post-partum, I’m still loving this me time that bathtime has added to my life.
My third intention was to protect my energy/health. Again, my pregnancy forced this on me. Since I was heading out on mat leave for a year, I had to learn when to say no and prioritize work that I could clue-up and transition that which would carry on into the back end of 2018 and beyond. I’m still learning to make time for myself within being a Mom and know that will be an ongoing journey and part of my 2019 intentions.
I also learned that part of protecting my energy/health was getting used to leaning into my village. Again, pregnancy and motherhood gave me ample positive pressure to do this too. From rides to Dr’s appointments to feeding us for the first month of our Daughter’s life, our village has been solid in ensuring we got to parenthood healthy and happy and that Ellyn entered this world surrounded by their love.
Being a Force for Good 