Carriers of the Universe: An Ode to Motherhood.
{Photo: Carl Kerridge}
“You are the caretaker of the generations, you are the birth giver,” the Sun told the Woman. “You will be the carrier of this universe.”
~ Brule Sioux Creation Story
On the eve of celebrating 9 months of pregnancy…
I feel overwhelmed. The world around me is still moving at super light speed while my mind, spirit and body is slowing down more and more each day. Surrendering to the present moment, while beautiful and where I am finding more and more peace — has also been a gradual letting go (tug of war) process with my mind and ego.
All around me, people are still constantly saying how “busy they are” with this or that. I see the stress, I see the constant need to be running with the pack — and I know that I must release that from what defines me or I will suffer.
Is it just the hormones that allow you to begin to see a little more clearly or it is truly tapping into a more authentic and honest flow of life — and realizing the illusion of the chase towards some undefinable/unattainable goal? The demands, the favors, the disappointments, the need to be seen — it is all too much for me today.
And I celebrate this. I celebrate the dusting off the lens — and sit with swollen ankles, heartburn, no sleep and feeling what life is truly asking of me right now in this moment.
To sit and just be. To be able to feel the intense and unpleasant sensations along with the excited, happy and joyful ones. I am just content to sit with it, because that is all life is asking of me right now.
So, I will take to the shore with my mama tribe — to continue the celebration of the unknown journey that lies ahead of us. To celebrate with color, dreams, hopes, elephants, flowers, trees, sunsets and waves. To splash and play and share the unspoken secrets that women have carried within them for thousands of years.
I will take to the shore where the only thing there was to do was celebrate life and love and one another — and the unspoken secret that this is truly all that really matters…
{Photo: Carl Kerridge}
“Remember this, for it is as true as true gets: Your body is not a lemon. You are not a machine. The Creator is not a careless mechanic. Human female bodies have the same potential to give birth well as aardvarks, lions, rhinoceri, elephants, moose, and water buffalo. Even if it has not been your habit throughout your life so far, I recommend that you learn to think positively about your body.”
~ Ina May Gaskin
{Photo: Carl Kerridge}
“You alone are enough. You have nothing to prove to anybody.”
~ Maya Angelou
{Photo: Carl Kerridge}
“If a woman doesn’t look like a Goddess during labor, then someone isn’t treating her right.”
~ Ina May Gaskin
{Photo: Carl Kerridge}
“The day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom.”
~ Anaïs Nin
{Photo: Carl Kerridge}
“Birth is not only about making babies. Birth is about making mothers. Strong, competent, capable mothers who trust themselves and know their inner strength.”
~ Barbara Katz Rothman
{Photo: Carl Kerridge}
“Making the decision to have a child is momentous. It is to decide forever to have your heart go walking around outside your body.”
~ Elizabeth Ston
{Photo: Carl Kerridge}
“Loving, knowing, and respecting our bodies is a powerful and invincible act of rebellion in this society.”
~ Inga Muscio
The Artists…
Carl Kerridge, Photographer and Daddy-to-be (author’s husband).
“I love ART, all forms of it. My passion has always been creativity and working with light. I have been making images since my childhood days, I can’t imagine doing anything else that could offer me the same appreciation for the beauty that surrounds us.”
Kimberly Dawn Clayton, Artist and mother of three.
Kimberly has been a full time artist since 1993. Her art is displayed in homes, galleries, and businesses all over the world. She paints and makes sculptures out of materials that others throw away turning discarded items into valuable art.
{Photo: Carl Kerridge}
And, in true mama-to-be fashion — when asked to strike a typical pregnancy pose we dropped straight into a squat, because by this point in the evening, we all had to pee…
*****
{Rebelle Mamas}
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