Surrender

I would say that mothering is one of the biggest catalysts for surrender in my own life.  From the simple things like sleep deprivation from nights with my fussy restless baby, to the huge ones like giving birth to this child.  (This third child of mine has proved to be the most unique and challenging in every way from pregnancy, birth and now through toddlerhood.  But that is a whole other story.)

In regards to labor and birth we use the concept of surrender all the time.  As there is nothing else to do but surrender to whatever is happening.  Surrender to the sensation, releasing the mind as it tries to hold on to thinking about the sensation.  Releasing the body as it tries to tighten around the sensation.  Here comes another wave...and we let it come.  Gracefully, gradually riding the tides, allowing each wave to come to its peak and then subside.  Finding that place of presence where we can let it wash over us without having to control it but just trusting that we are going where we need to go.

We can apply this metaphor of surrender in birth to all of the rest of our lives.  I find it especially useful in mothering.  I like to believe that each stage of pregnancy prepares you for birth, and each stage of development then subsequently prepares you for the next stage of parenting.  (I hope this is true for me as my kids reach adolescence and their teens.  :)  I do feel that the ultimate surrender experience of becoming a vessel for life to come through and embracing labor and birth strengthens a woman's ability to surrender.  There is a balance in the act of birth of effort and surrender where a woman gets out of the way and lets life move her literally, physically, psychically.  And there is a moment when the birth is complete and the woman catches her breath and a feeling comes over her of "Wow! If I can do that then I can do anything."  I watch women have that moment over and over again each in her own way.

So in the moments of life when we feel our greatest challenges as parents, as humans on this planet we can remember that feeling of surrender and know that we will move through whatever we are experiencing.  As we have done before, as our mothers have, as humans have been doing for centuries.  Simply getting out of the way and letting life move through us.