Surrender and go with the Flow

Hello


I have been alone for almost the whole day today, well not really alone, I have had my baby for company, she is all smiles and laughs. I love the way she looks at the world; everything is new to her.
My baby spends her day examining all the things she encounters in the most minute detail, everything she picks up goes in her mouth first, she usually tries shaking things to see if they make a sound, and some things she puts on her head to see if they are a hat! 
She works hard all day long crawling around and pulling herself up to standing tirelessly, exploring the house and everything in it that she can reach. 
Today I spent most of my day watching her, I had hoped to get some time to read or write, however today she decided not to sleep, so I surrendered and got on with being mummy. 


One of the most valuable things I have learnt about being a mum, is that it is far easier and infinitely more pleasurable, when I constantly remember to surrender my desires to achieve something and to simply go with the flow of the day. Some people might consider not getting anything done to be a failure, or lazy, but I know from experience firstly that babyhood is so short, if I blink I am likely to miss it entirely, and secondly that if I fight against the flow I end up stressed and miserable. 


I choose to view the privilege of being a full time mother as an opportunity to practise being in the moment, I choose to enjoy each moment I spend watching my baby chewing my glasses or playing peekaboo with me, and to relish it, savour it and to be at peace with getting nothing done. An opportunity to be a human being, rather than a human doing. 


Something I have learned from my baby is to renew the way I see the world around me, it is so easy to take surroundings for granted, to move around without really looking at anything. I want to notice the beauty of everything! I want to stop and notice my hands, my finger nails constantly growing. I want to feel the coldness of the panes of glass in my kitchen windows, did you know that glass it actually a liquid? I want to marvel at the fabric from which my sofa is made, or the thousands of hand woven strands that make up my persian rug. 


It seems it is all to easy to forget to notice creation, taking for granted the objects around us, for example I am so used to my car that I forget it is a steel box on wheels powered by fossilised trees which grew millions of years ago!!! 


Some people think creation is some sort of astronomical coincidence! They believe that we are here because of some accidental explosion caused by gas clouds! I wonder if they have ever actually looked at their fingerprints or watched a hummingbird hawkmoth drinking nectar from a flower?

Babies are amazed at the world because it is amazing! It takes years before humans are used to their bodies and the things around them. I want to take the time to notice the world and everything in it. I would like to cultivate in my self the enthusiasm of a baby, the joie de vivre that new beings hold, and I think it may be as simple as being present, appreciating our surroundings, noticing what we do have (rather than focusing on what we don't) and remembering that anything is possible. 


Today I am thankful for the lessons I learn from my children
I am thankful for the micro organisms like foramnifera which invisibly to the naked eye inhabit our oceans
I am thankful for the astonishing way that our bodies mend when we have damaged them
I am thankful for the refreshing power of sleep
I am thankful for my nightly mind movies
I am thankful for how happy Dan's new hat has made him
I am thankful for my daughters artistic flair
I am thankful for every day I get to watch my children grow
I am thankful for everyday that I grow
I am thankful for double cream


love Klara.