The Power of Mindfulness, Dar a Luz

The Power of Mindfulness, Dar a Luz

At a recent birth I attended, I was reminded of the power of mindfulness. We have all been navigating these extraordinary times. Parents are home with their children and their spouses. All the time. Zoom meetings are normal when they used to be occasional. The seasons roll along. Outside my window are brilliant colors heralding colder weather and shorter days. Children are bundled up. Parents are more reluctant to venture out in the wind and rain. Babies are still being born, in spite of our changed circumstances.

Mindfulness practice, the invitation to be with whatever is arising, has taken on new meaning. We have collectively asked ourselves what is important? How do we show up for our fears and grief as well as our joys and contentment? Cancelled vacations, distance from friends and relatives, school beginning again with its attendant anxiety, all of these have radically changed us. We are living with uncertainty now in ways we have not experienced before.

At the birth the other night, we were gathered together to witness and nurture a process that is an ancient one. The ritual of dar a luz ("bring to the light" in Spanish) is a journey made every day on this Earth. Most of us were wearing masks. The focus, the concentration of the gathering, was palpable. We were present for the mother and her child. And that is mindfulness. We may think mindfulness practice is esoteric but it is eminently practical. And don't we want to be present for the beauty of the moments when our child puts her arms around our neck, when we are holding a wet newborn in his first blanket? Those moments can give us the courage to stay with our discouragement or sadness. For the whole of our human experience.
It is in this very moment when we are truly alive.

​By Beth Coyote, LM, she/her
Licensed Midwife