I was going to title this blog post "Princesses aren't good birthers." Until I looked up the word birther, which contrary to what one might assume does not mean one who gives birth. Oh no, it means one who does not believe Barak Obama was born in the United States and therefore he is ineligible to be President. Okaaaay. Don't want Inigo saying to me.
You keep using that word, I do not think it means what you think it means.
So, instead I entitled it that catchy title you see above. Princesses aren't good at birth. At least not according to a recent article I read. An absolutely excellent article, that I just had to blog about. An article that is a breath of fresh air among all the natural childbirth rhetoric about "rushes" and "painfree childbirth." But, even more refreshing, an article which actually finds value in suffering. Something so rare in our modern day and age...where the sole purpose of existence seems to be to run far, far away from suffering in pursuit of ever fleeting happiness.
The gist of the article is that so many women (princesses) have difficulty with birth because they have never before really experienced pain and suffering and hard work and toil. Now, I disagree with her assessment of "princesses"..she's using it in the Snow White sense and not in the Real Princess sense. But, irregardless of the word she uses, I think the message is a sound one.
You see, the article isn't just about birth...but about life in general. It's true..that birth involves suffering. Birth involves pain and sweat and tears and screams, and blood and sometimes even vomit and poop.
And, so does life.
Every day brings a myriad of opportunities for work and discomfort. Take those opportunities. But don’t simply hate them, fight them, begrudge them, resent them, and in the end, say you endured them. Do more: Embrace them. Welcome them. Run toward them. Learn from them. And in the end, say you mastered them. You overcame them. You rose above them, and they made you stronger.
So, much of our modern life is wrapped around making life "easier". From washing machines to air conditioning to smartphones....people have constantly been inventing things to lighten our workload and make life easier. And that's not a bad thing. I'm definitely NOT about to give up my air conditioning or my washing machine. But, it can be good to realize that sometimes we need to suffer, sometimes we need to wait in line for 2 hours, or wake up 5 times a night with a baby, or clean what we have just cleaned for the 50th time or deal with people we may not care for or feel too hot, or too cold or too tired. And, that's okay. Because, we are strong enough to do that, and this life is not about ease or comfort.
When it comes to pregnancy and childbirth and raising children..suffering is almost a given. And, the contraceptive mentality of our society shirks from that suffering. From morning sickness to back aches, to birth to breastfeeding, to sleepless nights and temper tantrums and aching arms and aching hearts..motherhood involves pain. Lots of joy and lots of pain.
And, that okay. Because it is only by embracing our cross that we will be able to embrace our heavenly crown. After all...
We were not born to be comfortable. We were born to grow through adversity. We were born to work.
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| Greta...shortly after birth. As you can see, birth probably isn't too fun for the baby either. |
And, just because I love me a good link-up, I'm linking this up with Mama Moments Mondays and Mindful Mothering Mondays. Yes..on Tuesday.
