I wish it weren’t true, but in order for mothers to rise; in order for us to step into the positions of leadership and power that the world so desperately needs us to occupy and embody, we must be willing for our children to bear the brunt of more cultural dysfunction than our hearts and instincts are hardwired to permit.

In other words:⁣

In order for mothers to become the cultural healers and course-correctors we’re meant to be, we must not only invest intentionally in our children, but in the cultivation of ourselves as whole women. Inevitably, this means spending time away from our families, and trusting that they’ll be okay with the sitters and the screen time and a less-homemade existence than we ever imagined we’d settle for.

Maybe you’re still in the sweet thick of it with your newborn and can’t imagine such compromise. Or maybe you’re homeschooling and homesteading and exactly where you want to be. In that case, please ignore this message and continue rocking it right where you are.

But if you’re a writer and you desperately need quiet in order for the words to flow, please, oh please turn on the tv for your kids and escape for a couple of hours, regularly. The world needs your heart on paper more than your children need a perfectly screen-free existence.

If you’re an activist or a healer and it’s been years since you’ve engaged your passions, please, oh please let your mother-in-law watch them for the weekend and go to that rally or summit or retreat. The world needs you shining more than your babies need your unceasing self-sacrifice.

If you’re a teacher or a counselor or an astronaut at heart, please, oh please get that advanced degree and chase your dream. The world desperately needs you in your gift zone, and ultimately, your kids do, too.

⁣In an ideal world, we could step away and our kids wouldn’t be compromised. There would be aunties and grandmothers and neighbors to spare. But in order to CREATE that world, mothers must be thriving, empowered and offering the unique gifts we’re here to give. Motherhood is PART of that picture.

In service to your wholeness,