I AM A MOTHER
This week: Join Ruthie Lindsey and Hillary McBride for the "Invitation of Pain" Virtual Event on August 21st from 6 PM to 8 PM CT. More information is provided below, along with a link to sign up!
From as early as I can remember, I always wanted to be a mother. I would ask my mom for a baby as a birthday or Christmas gift, aching to have someone to love and care for. I remember family friends visiting with their baby, and I wouldn't let the baby out of my arms—I was completely captivated. When they left, I was heartbroken, crumbling, feeling an immense void that brought me to complete tears. I've always preferred the company of children and animals over adults. Their purity, honesty, and lack of filters and masks have always drawn me in deeply. The years of not being able to have children caused an ache in my body and soul that felt like a cruel trick, as if some mean God in the sky was punishing me. I often wondered, "Why give me these gifts and such a deep longing if I'm not meant to have it? Instead, you have me trapped in this body and in this bed suffering" I struggled to make sense of it all and felt utterly abandoned by both God and life (I thankfully don’t think like that at all anymore).
We've been taught by culture and often by religions that a woman's most important role is to become a mother, and if you aren't, you're somehow less than. Some politicians even claim that women without children should have less say in what happens in this world. All a freaking lie—none of it was ever true. I absolutely call bullshit on these stories that have been hurled upon us! If you've ever felt the weight of these stories, this video and poem are for you, my beautiful friend. I hope they feel like a big, loving hug for that aching part of your heart.
Sending all my love to you,
Love, Mama Ruthie
Keep reading for:
Love’s Invitation Monthly Event: Emotional Expression Workshop
Invitation of Pain Virtual Event
Mind + Body In-Person Workshop
Love’s Invitation Monthly Event: Emotional Expression Workshop
We all know that the body keeps the score, yet many of us were never taught how to feel, process, or express our emotions—let alone feel safe doing so. We were often told that certain emotions were bad, dirty, or sinful.
Join Ruthie on September 4th from 1 PM to 2 PM CT for a session dedicated to processing and expressing emotions through journaling and release practices.
This event is exclusively for paid subscribers ($6/month). If you're not yet a paid subscriber, you can subscribe below. Once you've subscribed, return to this post to register for the event. If you're already a paid subscriber, you'll find the registration link at the bottom of this newsletter.
The Invitation of Pain Virtual Event
When we experience pain, we are instructed to medicalize our pain to make it go away. We learn to see our bodies as the enemy and forget the identity outside of the pain. But we can learn to experience and understand pain differently, even coming to see pain as the route back home to who we really are. In this way, the pain becomes the invitation back to our bodily selves - reminding us how to love ourselves more fully, teaching us that we can heal regardless of whether the pain goes away or not.
In this event, join Ruthie Lindsey and Hillary McBride on August 21st at 6-8pm CT in a conversation about pain and a new way of thinking about how we relate to it and ourselves. Ruthie and Hillary will share their stories of journeying through chronic pain and recovery, the lessons they learned along the way, current research findings about healing from pain, and engage attendees in practices to begin to experience ourselves and our pain differently. Click the link below to learn more about this event and purchase your ticket.
In-Person Mind + Body Workshop
Jed and Ruthie are teaming up in Nashville, Tennessee from September 21st to the 22nd for a weekend writing and embodiment workshop.
The 2024 Mind and Body Workshop will focus on addressing our past, present, and future, as well as understanding what our bodies are telling us about it. Click the link below to learn more and purchase your ticket!