Swell
Motherhood is a death and rebirth. You lose who you were to gain who you'll be. You must break down to build yourself new. And you'll never be the same. The change is a swell both unbearable and electrifying.
Shift
Motherhood is relentless, especially early motherhood. There are no breaks. There are no days off. It's exhaustion, joy, heartbreak, overwhelm, abundance, and longing. It's the constant shifting of expectations, plans, and priorities. And it's the shifting of earth as two masses collide and break to form a mountain from their parts.
Carve
The earth gives us everything we need to thrive, and yet, we're always finding new ways to pollute and carve her up for selfish gains and conveniences. As they say... you can't eat money.
Cursed
Mother Earth has the miraculous power to create, grow, sustain, and regenerate life, and yet, she has no humanly rights-- cannot protect herself against the will of mankind. We need her to live. We take and benefit from her. She is divine and deserves to be put on a pedestal, but instead, we treat her as less than. All the power to give life but no power to protect herself. She survives... cursed.
Sonder
Martin Niemöller’s poem, 'First They Came…' provided the initial inspiration for this piece. So often we get lost in our own worlds without noticing the people around us and the challenges they face. We lose sight of what is important, and we fail to help and protect our neighbors, especially when we feel we cannot identify with them. This might be because they come from a different socioeconomic background, struggle with mental health issues, or have a different skin color, gender, or sexual orientation. Ultimately, we all know pain; we all need support, and we are more alike than different. We forget that every person we see is a special soul on a collective journey to find love, truth, and meaning. Accepting the false belief that our differences supersede our shared human experience not only wounds ourselves and fellow journeymen but prevents us from seeing what makes life truly beautiful: unfettered human connection.