Coming into the World

Recently, on my husband's birthday, his mom reminded him of what a rush he'd been in to be born; he was almost out before she could get to the delivery room.  We laughed at how he's always been eager to get things going his whole life.  Then I considered what I've heard about my own birth - that I had to be coaxed out with forceps.  This seems terribly apropos in regards to the regular battles I've had with my reticent personality. 

Then I considered my sons' births.  My eldest was born with a  long umbilical cord that had wrapped itself around his neck (that had to be untangled).  In his life, his avid striving for greater independence, separateness, and distance has both benefited him and created problems.  

Then there's my youngest son - born with the shortest  of umbilical cords.  Had it been a smidgen shorter, he wouldn't have been able to come out on his own.  This seems to accurately reflect how close he's wanted to stay to home and his uncertainty about being independent.

Though I have no scientific evidence that quirky or difficult births reflect the energy and orientation of the personality of the person to come, this has got me thinking about how we all birth ourselves into the world every day.  For birth doesn't  happen only once in a life, it's an ongoing experience.

Unlike the births that bring us onto the planet, our moment to moment arrivals afford us the opportunity of conscious choice.  We can choose how we wish to be born into each moment - embracing the experience, or resisting it, watching as the new world unfolds before us, or fearing what is to come.

Much Love,
Jennifer