Five Sacred Practices: How I Protect My Time as a Conscious Parent
This newsletter might need a new name: Conversations with Other Parents. Every time I have a meaningful chat, it sparks an idea I want to write about.
This weekend at the park, I was talking with another mom about motherhood and time. At one point, she said something like, “We had our time, and now we have kids—our time will come later.” I know a lot of parents feel this way.
Yes, things are different now. "Our time" has shifted in duration, frequency, and maybe even quality. But here's where I see it differently: I am deeply committed to making time for myself, even now.
Awareness is the first step to being a mindful parent.
I want to start by saying that I was you, I am you, and I continue to be a human parent with all the emotions that come with it. What I can tell you is that when I began to engage in mindfulness practices (yes, I’ll explain that), became more embodied (don’t worry, I’ll break this down too), and learned to control my breath, a fundamental shift occurred. I re-calibrated how I reacted and how I felt about myself as a mother.