There is a life-force within your soul, seek that life.

There is a gem in the mountain of your body, seek that mine.

O traveler, if you are in search of That

Don’t look outside, look inside yourself and seek That.

— Rumi

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

“The miracle of life,” and “life changing,” and “you won’t understand until you have one,” and “the most amazing thing ever.” These are the platitudes we’re likely to hear when discussing the birth of a child.  But they are not trite or meaningless; they are profoundly true. Unfortunately though, these statements also don’t entirely give justice to the experience of a baby traveling into the world.

A miracle, the noun most often used to describe birth, gives us the sense of a deep unknowing, of something beyond our understanding. What is incredibly miraculous to me about birth though is that the knowledge of how to make this journey is nestled deep inside humans’ DNA, and was hard-wired into our unconscious instincts evolutions ago. Birth is a dance between the mother and child, filled with awe-inspiring rushes of courage, strength, will, and a wisdom that emerges from both mom and baby about how to cross the threshold.

While only a few inches separates our existence in the womb from our first breaths in the world, the trip is complex, diverse, imaginative, and breathtaking: a perfect analogy for the entire life that follows. So we owe it to ourselves to confidently take the next step of our living journey, knowing that That gem of power, of happiness, of our will to survive and thrive, is already in us, and has been for eons.