Last stretch of the marathon or hardly the start, some might say.
Looking back at the last 8 months, reflecting on the journey. Pregnancy definitely has some effect on me and made me realised some things about myself.
As much as I aspire to show/display self-control, it is easy to do so when things are going well, the conditions favour my choice of "controlling my emotions, controlling my thoughts, controlling my actions". It matters more when the conditions are lacking/not favourable, that I can also display such control - which requires a lot more mindfulness and communication with one-self. Sometimes, it seems almost impossible and it feels unfair that I should control myself (because of whatever reasons) and all hell breaks loose (I mean HELL). Besides blaming on hormones, I can only say that I am only human and strive to do better at the next test.
"Seeking balance" is also a recurring theme during this period of time. After reading and listening to advice relating to child birth/rearing, it is still a blur to me what I wish to do. I have a general idea that I wish our child can have a childhood but do not know what exactly I would do for her in this aspect. The only thing that is clear to me, is not to go to the extreme. Be it in preparing for her arrival, thinking about her learning, caring for her... I just hope these things are instinctive and comes naturally once she is here. In any event, we would have to take one-step-a-day, and recognise that it would be impossible to have a 5 year plan like building a corporation.
Also, I read a story online about a monk being tasked to wash a Venerable's robes after an all night meditation. The moral of the story is that "doing it is easier than thinking about it" - he was so angry thinking about the amount of work he had to do after an all-night meditation, that he started complaining to the narrator about it. The narrator, who initially wanted to offer an helping hand, told him "doing it is easier than thinking about it" and left. The monk thought about it and went about his chores, returning to the narrator at night to thank him for his advice.
This simple story makes so much sense - more often than not, we freak out/get angry/overwhelmed by mammoth tasks and stop doing any thing about the task. Whereas, more often than not, when we start with one small portion of the work, very soon, we find ourselves completing the task eventually. This applies to work and also very much applies to me and the pregnancy/pending delivery/child rearing.
The pregnancy thus far has been smooth and the past 8 months could be interpreted as a breeze, save for the current physical difficulties of backache, etc. After attending the ante-natal classes, in particular, the one about delivery, I momentarily freak-out. I panicked because of the potential pain involved, the messiness and how uncomfortable the aftermath might be - I was not sure I can get through that.
Borrowing the moral of the earlier story, thinking and worrying about not being able to go through with it wouldn't help me at all... So I had to constantly remind myself to let these thoughts go and accept and adapt to whatever that will come with the situation. Freaking out just robs me of the time to enjoy my journey now, time to prepare mentally and practically for junior.
Looks like junior is already teaching me a lot before her arrival :) I only hope I remember the journey and the lessons on this journey as my days become pre-occupied with nappy changing and milk pumping.
May 2014 be a great year for one and all.
