I have this great Photography Book called the Circle of life… and from cradle to the grave it shows how all different cultures mark the milestones in life in stunning pictures and brief stories. I bought this book ages ago… I was 19-20 years old, working at the mall and would always walk in to the bookstore and look at this book that at the time was not in my budget. One day they had a sale and I was able to afford it. It is still one of my favorite books. In my meditation group last night I was explaining how difficult the transition and becoming a Mom has been. The teacher said that we are not meant to parent alone… that in most countries families & tribes come together to help, assist and support a new Mom.


She went on to tell a story of these Women in Bali or India who have the grueling task of breaking rocks all day long, not a job anyone would be happy doing. These women are among their peers, mothers, sister, aunts, grandmothers and they all work together helping each other with the cooking, cleaning and child rearing and you know what.. They are happy. The older women feel valued because they are being sought out for their wisdom and they are all happy because they are together. I thought that was an amazing story and a good reminder to be more helpful to my Mother, Sisters, cousin, and friends as they go through important milestones in their lives

A mentor of mine just retired after a long career in Social Work. She described her feelings of retiring as initially euphoria then lethargy, then depression set in and now feeling as she needs to reinvent herself. Here we are more than 30 years between us and going through different milestones in our life but feeling very much the same way. We can support each other and learn from one another.


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