"To survive as a parent
you must empty yourself
of your constant thinking,
planning, and worrying.
You and your children
were born in the Tao,
live in the Tao,
and will return to that same Tao.
If you don't realize this,
you will mistake the sorrow you see in life
for the final word,
and you will become hardened with fear.
But, knowing how things really are,
you gain true confidence.
Being confident,
your mind opens to see your children
as they really are.
Seeing them as they really are,
your heart fills with genuine love for them.
Truly loving them,
you realize your own divine nature.
Realizing your true nature,
you enter eternal life.
These truths lie behind all religious traditions.
Believe them."
Becoming a mother has put me in touch with the most essential truth of myself, has helped me see that what I had always longed for, hoped for, and looked forward to was always true. What the world always tried to deny, I held to. But once my daughter had been born, I didn't experience the sort of "life defining moment" I had expected, as when I graduated from college or got married, for example. I have learned that motherhood is not a milestone. Instead, for me, it is an invitation to engage fully with myself in order to be fully present for my family and other loved ones. It's a process. I don't always get it right. But worrying about doing so is fruitless. I just have to keep going, now that I'm here.
you must empty yourself
of your constant thinking,
planning, and worrying.
You and your children
were born in the Tao,
live in the Tao,
and will return to that same Tao.
If you don't realize this,
you will mistake the sorrow you see in life
for the final word,
and you will become hardened with fear.
But, knowing how things really are,
you gain true confidence.
Being confident,
your mind opens to see your children
as they really are.
Seeing them as they really are,
your heart fills with genuine love for them.
Truly loving them,
you realize your own divine nature.
Realizing your true nature,
you enter eternal life.
These truths lie behind all religious traditions.
Believe them."
Becoming a mother has put me in touch with the most essential truth of myself, has helped me see that what I had always longed for, hoped for, and looked forward to was always true. What the world always tried to deny, I held to. But once my daughter had been born, I didn't experience the sort of "life defining moment" I had expected, as when I graduated from college or got married, for example. I have learned that motherhood is not a milestone. Instead, for me, it is an invitation to engage fully with myself in order to be fully present for my family and other loved ones. It's a process. I don't always get it right. But worrying about doing so is fruitless. I just have to keep going, now that I'm here.
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