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.
What's in a name: The Story Behind HEN Mindfulness
Hello and welcome to my first words on this Substack. I believe in starting at the beginning—with the origin, the why. I hope to create a small framework to give some insight into who I am and what my mission is.
First off, HEN stands for Hic Et Nunc, the literal Latin translation for "Here and Now." The importance of those words will come up again and again as we go through this journey together.