This came to me the other day, and really the list could go on and on, couldn't it? It's no wonder I've been feeling tired and a bit overwhelmed. Do you ever get caught in that trap of being too hard on yourself, too much of the time?
Last night I had a conversation about guilt with one of my wise mom friends (I am lucky to have many). She said in our culture we have this mistaken idea that guilt is productive, that it motivates us to action. But in her opinion, most of the time guilt just made her feel worse.
I think she's right. I can't remember the last time guilt spurred me into a flurry of productive activity. It usually just makes me feel more defeated. Of course there are times when guilt is appropriate, but most of the guilt we feel as moms isn't. It just diminishes us.
Unfortunately guilt has dug a deep and familiar trench in the pathways of my brain, and it's going to take some work to rewire things. Maybe a good place to start is to simply try to observe my guilty thoughts without judgment. Because how easy would it be to start feeling guilty about feeling guilty?
Raising little humans is a huge undertaking. The very fact that you are trying is enough.
So try to cut yourself some slack today :) And I'll try to do the same.
No comments:
Post a Comment