We live in turbulent times, yes, but human history has been full of crises, natural and man-made. What is important, what makes or breaks us, is how we respond to life’s challenges as well as its gifts. Maya Angelou wrote, “You may encounter many defeats, but you must not be defeated. In fact, it may be necessary to encounter the defeats, so you can know who you are, what you can rise from, how you can still come out of it.” All we can do is try to meet that challenge with power and presence, becoming bigger through our response, and perhaps even do something positive in response.
Nights with an infant stretched long, with nuanced and layered emotions. Some nights, the weight of exhaustion seemed unbearable. I wanted to crumple into the piles of laundry, to sink into a mountain of fabric as though it was a nest that would cradle my body so that I could rest. Instead, I sat and rocked my daughter back to sleep, her warm body on my chest, and I looked out the window to the full moon. My mind meandered through the glass, past my yard, traveling to the other mothers who sat under the same moon and nurtured their own little ones. In those quiet moments, I felt a thread of connection pulling taught between myself and mothers I’d never meet — bound not by place or even time but by love and nurturing.