BAL002: The Selfless Mother Myth

There are many myths of motherhood, but the one about the "self-less" mother is one of the most insidious and difficult to challenge because being selfless is really honorable, right? The sweetest hallmark cards talk about how much mom does for us, how much mom sacrifices for us, and loves us, and how big and limitless that love is. A mother's love can be beautiful, but there’s an undercurrent here for the selfless mother that speaks to an expectation many women feel to be the good and sacrificial mother who doesn't think of herself. Her ability to always respond to the needs and demands of others, however, often comes at a cost to her.  What if we could do both - love ourselves and give to others?  

Om Podcasten

Parenting can lead us to a threshold in life we hadn’t known before. We're bringing into the parenting dynamic with our kids the momentum of our previous experiences - our resources and resilience, as well as our disconnection and disembodiment due to trauma (individual, familial, cultural, historical & intergenerational).  Beyond the challenges we face to parent in ways we may not have been parented, there is a deep love for our children that wants to be expressed and known in presence with them. There's also a yearning in us to experience that deep love ourselves; to feel our power and to live authentically, just as we yearn to protect that for our kids, too. The urgency to heal what's still alive within us might come up with a force because of them, and yet it's ultimately a reclamation of our life force, vitality, joy, connection and creativity we're most hungry for. It’s sometimes a desire bold as love that fuels our courage to meet what we fear to face.