Mantra

I found a mantra!! Or at least some affirmations. From the book Blessingways by Shari Maser:

"My body is beautiful and strong...I accept the healthy pain of labor, if and when it comes...I share in the strength and wisdom of my mothers."

I changed "all mothers" to "my mothers" to honor the women in my family lines that have birthed before me.

I've had a lot of conflict when thinking about motherhood. Mostly because I have a desire to want to honor all mothers but I know that's not realistic since some women treat motherhood in ways that I don't approve of. So if I focus on my family line and the generations of women that have brought myself, my mother, my grandmother, and in five months, my baby into the world, I feel a sense of strength and courage. I don't feel that way when considering "all" mothers.

If you get a chance to read Blessingways, do it! It's a great way to think about the awesome power and responsibility of birth, and a great way to honor a loved one who is going through the birthing process.

What's my mantra?

According to this website, I need to adopt a mantra to get me through my feelings of "am I gaining weight too fast?". I agree. I think I'm down in the dumps for several reasons but one is because I'm starting to burst out of my clothes, I open my closet and I have nothing suitable to wear for work, and I have back pain that's probably related to the weight gain* (which is going away since I'm exercising my back regularly).

I actually thought about a birth mantra today. It was "Millions of women have done this, I can too!" The only other time I've had a mantra was when I was climbing up and down the stairs of St. Paul's Cathedral. Towards the top, the staircase became very narrow and made out of metal instead of stone. You could also look down through the metal steps and see to the next level. Scared the crap out of me. I took one step at a time on that staircase saying "Every step down is closer to the ground." It worked, although I was a huge bundle of nerves. But it worked!! I got to see the awesome view and I could say "Yeah! I've done it!"

Soooo...anyone have tips for a "sexy mama" mantra?? Or, if not sexy, how about a "non-lardass, you're fine and doing the right thing" mantra? I think it will help.

*Of about seven pounds. Yeah, I know. What's going to happen when I'm an Orca?