For many of us, Mother's Day can have an array of emotions. These emotions can be joy and pride due to being a mother or having a wonderful mother through to despair and grief if you're motherless, have lost a child, do not have a good relationship with your mother, or your mother is no longer alive. Over these last few days, I've seen a lot of people struggling with Mother's Day and so many rejoicing in it.
I understand.
Whenever there is something that I need from someone else, I try to take a moment to try and see whether it is possible to give it to myself. I don't see that mothering is any different to this. Imagine if you could treat yourself in the way that the most loving and kind mother would do. What would you say to yourself? How would you be with yourself? What compassion, gentleness and kindness would you give to yourself? What softness would you envelop yourself with?
I think that, on some level, all of us need some mothering. The world is harsh right now. It can be painful if we've never been mothered well or no longer have our mother here. But that doesn't mean that you can't have the experience on some level.
I've decided to embark on a year of practice with myself. I want to invite you to join me. I'm going to embark on A Year of Self Mothering. I invite you to join me, no matter what the nature of your relationship is or has been with your mother.
As you know, I believe that small habitual changes can deliver profound transformation. And so, I am personally going to gift myself every day for 365 days with an act of mothering. It might be something that I go out of my way to do for myself that's gentle and nourishing. It might be that I take the time to listen to myself. Perhaps there will be days where I will tell myself that what I've done already is more than enough and take the afternoon off. I'm not sure where this journey is going to lead me. I have no idea what I will realise or heal in myself. However, having undertaken practices like this before, I know it will be profound.
And so I offer you to join me. If anything here rings true - that you know you need to be more nourishing of yourself, that you are missing your mother, that you want to take charge of your happiness, then come and join me.
I have a private group called Monique's Mob that you can access if you use any of my programs. And there, we've started a conversation. And that is what this next year will be - a conversation as we find our way. A conversation about coming together and witnessing each other's changes and growth and ideas. How do I self mother? I'm not sure. But together, we are going to find out.
