Sunshine and Storm Clouds
A flight across the Hecate Strait in a Beaver. If this sounds exciting, like it does to me, imagine it from harbour to harbour, looking down at boats out for some leisure time. Imagine sun sparkling off the waves. Imagine the birds lazily circling over herring schools, waiting for the opportune moment to dive in. Imagine LOTS of vibration---those planes are wicked that way! And noise!! But all in all, with sun poking out, waves lapping quietly several hundred feet below and you have a picture of how I would be happy to be spending this morning! I am not, but am just imagining, planning ahead to our summer of kayaking, of enjoying some lazy sunny days ahead.
I am also thinking of the long drive to Prince Rupert, snaking along the Skeena River. Seeing gulls overhead, knowing that indicates fish below the surface. When we drive out that road, we think of the fishing villages that used to be on the Skeena in years gone by, Port Essington, places that boomed with industry. this industry is now in danger of no longer being. Each year, there is less work in the fish plants, on the water, in the boats. A danger that most of us will not do anything about until it is no longer--only then will we step up and fight it, I am sure! But for now, I can imagine what those days were like, what it was like having the big diesel boats docking up, full of their catch, spilling it into the holds.
I admire people who stand up for what is not right, what needs fighting for, such as the Skeena Watershed folks- and the Sacred Headwater group.Ali Howard was such an amazing woman, one of many, but on her own with lots of support, swam the length of the Skeena River--some 650 km! If you connect with her link, you will find some incredibly inspiring footage of this trip and the people behind it.
What am I passionate about? What do I want to stand up for, to protect? I am passionate about people, about families and about how families start. It is important to me that people have the choices to make the best start in life. I have spent much of the last 30 years caring about people, about their life choices, about children and a safe world for them. In my childbirth teaching, I have a passion about speaking up for those who as yet have no voice, the unborn baby. I don't like the words 'fetus' or 'embryo' because they de-humanize. I also regard that circle of life very highly. I see how pregnancy very much affects a whole lifetime. We are incredibly well-designed, right down to the wash of hormones that are responsible for the feelings of well-being that women should be reporting in their pregnancy. Women should be feeling good about themselves, about their baby and about their relationships with others. They should feel protected and cared for, loved and safe. Those women who don't feel this way are also more likely to go into early labour or need interventions for their labours. Those very interventions affect the woman's well-being, her feelings of adequacy and leave her questioning her womanly abilities. Me, I am passionate about making sure a person has as much information as they need to make a difference in their own birthing experience, in their own pregnancy and in their ability to be a mother. I love watching the journey from maidenhood to motherhood, the empowering experience it is and how it fully impacts both mother and baby, the unique dyad of two individuals who are most certainly connected to each other in a way that is like no other.
Today, I am imagining. I am thinking about the passionate individuals I know, how they make a difference in their world. I know I am at an age where I have started to move into the "wise woman" phase. I have an opportunity to speak and be heard, to use the wisdom I have built to do good for others. Soon, I will work on a book. Before that, I will be stretching my abilities to include a powerpoint presentation to be used for a childbirth class. I can certainly write the class, but the powerpoint is still a bit beyond my abilities, so I will be looking for some wise counsel from my husband. He is good at this kind of thing--we are good partners!
So, in this day, I will be grateful for passions. I will be thankful for what is laid on my heart, taking care of others with a merciful motivation. What difference can I make in my world? I have a friend who is using her holidays to help families who have been impacted by the storms in the Southern US. I am impressed by this! And I am grateful that we are each motivated by something different, things that show us how we are unique and individual--and I take that as showing us once again that we were "fearfully and wonderfully made". Thank God!
I am also thinking of the long drive to Prince Rupert, snaking along the Skeena River. Seeing gulls overhead, knowing that indicates fish below the surface. When we drive out that road, we think of the fishing villages that used to be on the Skeena in years gone by, Port Essington, places that boomed with industry. this industry is now in danger of no longer being. Each year, there is less work in the fish plants, on the water, in the boats. A danger that most of us will not do anything about until it is no longer--only then will we step up and fight it, I am sure! But for now, I can imagine what those days were like, what it was like having the big diesel boats docking up, full of their catch, spilling it into the holds.
I admire people who stand up for what is not right, what needs fighting for, such as the Skeena Watershed folks- and the Sacred Headwater group.Ali Howard was such an amazing woman, one of many, but on her own with lots of support, swam the length of the Skeena River--some 650 km! If you connect with her link, you will find some incredibly inspiring footage of this trip and the people behind it.
What am I passionate about? What do I want to stand up for, to protect? I am passionate about people, about families and about how families start. It is important to me that people have the choices to make the best start in life. I have spent much of the last 30 years caring about people, about their life choices, about children and a safe world for them. In my childbirth teaching, I have a passion about speaking up for those who as yet have no voice, the unborn baby. I don't like the words 'fetus' or 'embryo' because they de-humanize. I also regard that circle of life very highly. I see how pregnancy very much affects a whole lifetime. We are incredibly well-designed, right down to the wash of hormones that are responsible for the feelings of well-being that women should be reporting in their pregnancy. Women should be feeling good about themselves, about their baby and about their relationships with others. They should feel protected and cared for, loved and safe. Those women who don't feel this way are also more likely to go into early labour or need interventions for their labours. Those very interventions affect the woman's well-being, her feelings of adequacy and leave her questioning her womanly abilities. Me, I am passionate about making sure a person has as much information as they need to make a difference in their own birthing experience, in their own pregnancy and in their ability to be a mother. I love watching the journey from maidenhood to motherhood, the empowering experience it is and how it fully impacts both mother and baby, the unique dyad of two individuals who are most certainly connected to each other in a way that is like no other.
Today, I am imagining. I am thinking about the passionate individuals I know, how they make a difference in their world. I know I am at an age where I have started to move into the "wise woman" phase. I have an opportunity to speak and be heard, to use the wisdom I have built to do good for others. Soon, I will work on a book. Before that, I will be stretching my abilities to include a powerpoint presentation to be used for a childbirth class. I can certainly write the class, but the powerpoint is still a bit beyond my abilities, so I will be looking for some wise counsel from my husband. He is good at this kind of thing--we are good partners!
So, in this day, I will be grateful for passions. I will be thankful for what is laid on my heart, taking care of others with a merciful motivation. What difference can I make in my world? I have a friend who is using her holidays to help families who have been impacted by the storms in the Southern US. I am impressed by this! And I am grateful that we are each motivated by something different, things that show us how we are unique and individual--and I take that as showing us once again that we were "fearfully and wonderfully made". Thank God!
I sure hope he had some nice weather for that flight and drive! I sure love the west coast beauty and you describe it so well:)
ReplyDeleteI love you my passionate mother. xoxo