The pictures on the website showed floors crowded with tummy time activities– balls, high contrast images, hand puppets, books, musical instruments, blocks, and other enticing, baby friendly objects.<\/span><\/p>\n The copy\u00a0talked about how in order to develop normally, babies need stimulation. \u00a0But many parents need guidance as to how to best create the conditions for\u00a0optimum learning to occur. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The author had passion and expertise, and a beautiful mission to empower mothers to\u00a0connect with their babies and help their babies\u00a0learn.<\/span><\/p>\n Still, reading this website, I felt troubled. \u00a0Because behind the author’s words was an\u00a0underlying message\u00a0that played into some of a new mother\u2019s worst fears.<\/span><\/p>\n What if I\u2019m not doing it right? \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n What if I should be providing something that my baby isn\u2019t getting? \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n We as mothers\u00a0often carry the lion’s share of\u00a0responsibility for many\u00a0decisions around child rearing, so these\u00a0doubts, when they surface, run deep. \u00a0And with experts on all sides creating a pervasive\u00a0<\/span>din of often conflicting advice,\u00a0at times, the list of things to worry about can seem endless.<\/span><\/p>\n Maybe\u00a0she\u2019s not getting enough sleep…<\/strong><\/p>\n Maybe\u00a0if she\u2019s not getting enough milk…<\/strong><\/p>\n Will it harm my baby if we don\u2019t co-sleep? \u00a0Will it harm my baby if we do?<\/strong><\/p>\n Am I doing enough for my child? \u00a0Am I giving her enough?<\/strong><\/p>\n These kind of doubts can be very hard to navigate. \u00a0And they can undermine something very important–\u00a0our\u00a0trust in our own connection to source, and to our own deep knowing<\/strong>.<\/p>\n Chances are, you already know this.<\/p>\n You discovered early on that mothering was not a race for developmental milestones, but a slow dance<\/strong>— endless, ever changing, and out of time. \u00a0Being together. \u00a0Learning each other. \u00a0Listening to each other. \u00a0Dancing your way through each new challenge, each new day.<\/p>\n A dance is based not only our closeness, but also on the changing space between us.<\/strong>\u00a0 \u00a0As much as babies need closeness, they also need spaciousness– the space to inhabit their own sovereignty, and grow into the sovereign beings they are.<\/p>\n You get that so much of parenting is not guiding at all, or stimulating, or doing<\/b> anything. \u00a0It is simply looking on\u2026 \u00a0in awe. \u00a0Appreciating the miracle of life unfolding here, right in front of us, in this being we were somehow blessed enough to help come into this world.<\/p>\n But it’s not just your child who is transforming in such incredible ways.<\/p>\n You too are\u00a0in the midst of the most\u00a0astonishing unfolding.<\/strong><\/p>\n Your miraculous body, a gateway for life.<\/strong><\/p>\n The love in your heart<\/strong>,\u00a0vaster than you knew was possible.<\/strong><\/p>\n Your strength, astounding. \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n Your\u00a0<\/strong>resilience, incredible.<\/b><\/p>\n Who knew what this body could carry?<\/strong><\/p>\n Who knew what this heart could hold?<\/strong><\/p>\n And so, my message for you today is this:<\/p>\n You are the perfect mother for your baby. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n You. \u00a0As you are. \u00a0With all the qualities you\u2019re proud of, and all those you sometime want to change. \u00a0All of these things make you you. \u00a0And they make you the mother your child was meant to have.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n So I’ve got an idea…<\/p>\n Wherever we’re at with regards to the things we’re striving for, let’s love ourselves unconditionally.<\/p>\n Let’s love ourselves with abundance.<\/p>\n We have practice in this, after all, now… \u00a0Let’s love ourselves as well\u00a0as we love our children.<\/p>\n And in this way, let’s show our children what a love like this truly means.<\/p>\n Freedom.<\/p>\n The freedom to dare. \u00a0The freedom to fail. \u00a0The freedom to come as we are.<\/p>\n And in closing, I want to ask you this:<\/span><\/p>\n Where are you practicing self-love?<\/strong> \u00a0(Because we all know, love takes work!)<\/span><\/p>\n Where, by contrast, are you struggling with self-acceptance?<\/strong> \u00a0This might be a place you\u2019re holding yourself up to a standard you can never quite measure up to\u2026 \u00a0It might be a relationship that no longer feels good to you\u2026 \u00a0It might be some other place where you feel stalled or stuck.<\/span><\/p>\n How can you find more of the former in your life, and less of the latter?<\/strong><\/p>\n And wherever you are at on this journey, I mostly just want to tell you that I love you. \u00a0I see you.<\/span><\/p>\n Through our million fragmented conversations, held in parks, before or after my classes, standing in streams, walking in woods, in line at the grocery store, and everywhere we meet\u00a0in our mothering and our seeking\u2026 <\/span><\/p>\n I see us, and we are incredible!!! \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n So let\u2019s celebrate us! \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Today\u2019s song isn\u2019t so much for children…. \u00a0It\u2019s for us. \u00a0For those times when we just need a reminder..<\/span><\/p>\n This song was written by Libby Roderick. \u00a0When I was in high school, a\u00a0friend gave it to me on a mix tape.<\/span><\/p>\n Years later, I taught this song to the children in a chorus I was leading. \u00a0There, based on its powerful effect on audiences in the concerts we game, the children affectionately named it \u201cthe song that makes grown ups cry. <\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u201cWhy?\u201d they asked, bemused.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cJust wait,\u201d I told them. <\/span><\/p>\n \u201cOne day, you’ll see.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_code admin_label=”Code”]<iframe width=”560″ height=”315″ src=”https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/2K4x-oYmnQI” frameborder=”0″ allowfullscreen><\/iframe>[\/et_pb_code][et_pb_cta admin_label=”Call To Action” url_new_window=”off” use_background_color=”on” background_color=”#9cd8a9″ background_layout=”dark” text_orientation=”left” use_border_color=”off” border_color=”#ffffff” border_style=”solid” custom_button=”off” button_letter_spacing=”0″ button_use_icon=”default” button_icon_placement=”right” button_on_hover=”on” button_letter_spacing_hover=”0″ saved_tabs=”all” body_font_size=”16″]<\/p>\n If you enjoyed this post, here are a few ways to go deeper:<\/span><\/p>\n Join the conversation in our\u00a0online community, Deep River Families<\/a><\/strong>.<\/a><\/p>\n Download our latest Meadowlark Music Class album<\/strong><\/a>. \u00a0It’s free \/ pay what you want!<\/p>\n Meadowlark Music Class<\/strong><\/a>, my weekly music class for children and caregivers, meets W, TH, and F mornings at indoor and outdoor locations around San Francisco. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Learn more about Waldorf education through my my outdoor Waldorf parent child class, Apple Star<\/strong><\/a>, which meets Tuesday mornings in Glen Canyon. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.noevenable.com\/singingcircles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/pablo-10.png\")
<\/p>\nYou are enough. \u00a0<\/strong><\/h2>\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.noevenable.com\/singingcircles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/pablo-11.png\")
<\/p>\nAnd if you\u2019re in the SF Bay Area, \u00a0join us in person!<\/strong><\/h2>\n