By Kelly Van Zandt
The wisdom a mother gathers in the postpartum period has the power to impact her entire approach to the world. A mother can lead from the strength gleaned through early motherhood, and reciprocally the world is in desperate need of the nurturing of a strong mother.
The path of early motherhood is inevitably filled with the exploration of the unknown, and each step of the journey holds great potential for meaningful discovery and personal growth. From the first moment of life as a mother you have an opportunity to rediscover all that you are in the truest sense.
Your experience of early motherhood is of grand importance. From conception through postpartum, you are establishing your baby’s lifelong wellbeing, and simultaneously you are in a process of deep discovery, learning, and maturation.
Let us recognize the value of early motherhood: the incubator of your child’s wellbeing, and the catalyst for embodied wisdom of the mother.
Even knowing the innate significance of pregnancy and postpartum, many new mothers fixate on their existence outside of motherhood. Some mothers are not provided a choice and will have to return to work straight away. Other mothers cannot wait to return to their job. Some mothers will decide to stay home, and some are comfortable making efforts for both family and career. No matter the scenario, it is important to remember that the process of postpartum is working for your growth; as you develop personally you can expect that the shift in your inner world may in some way impact your approach in your professional life.
Whatever your situation looks like, you can rest in knowing that a mother’s service to her family is connected to her service to others, whether in a workplace or the community. The postpartum process may be your greatest moment of growth, priming you for a beautiful reorientation. The experiences of motherly love will be woven into your approach to life in the external world. You are learning what it means to be in full relation with another, living life from the place of “we”. You are learning what it means to be in service, and you are shown the power of presence. You are finding your authenticity as your work through the many layers of identity in early motherhood. Unfolding this inner wisdom stretches you – your strength and your capabilities.
Through motherhood you are being trained to relate to others from the heart: connected, tolerant, healing, and nurturing, but also fierce, strong, and protective.
You are living the way of the awakened, not overly focused on the result but present to the richness of the action itself, needing no validation to define your worth. What a gift you will hone from this experience to offer to society.
New mother, you are entrusted with the awesome responsibility of the care of your baby, and you’re given the opportunity for a sacred journey in the development of yourself. Mother, be still within and know that your work is of the highest importance. Proceed in excellence.
This article contains excerpts from the new book, Powerful Postpartum. For more information, you can visit www.powerfulpostpartum.com.
Kelly Van Zandt believes that the early moments of motherhood are some of the most transformational of a woman’s life. In her new book, Powerful Postpartum, Kelly presents a fresh and empowering perspective on the postpartum period as one filled with tremendous potential for growth and an opportunity to rediscover the woman’s truest essence. For more, you can visit www.powerfulpostpartum.com.
