Around hour 22 of the unmedicated labor of my first born, and in the throes of pushing, I announced to my birthing team: “I can’t do this.”
Without pause, Joni (my midwife) responded with: “You’re doing it.”
In that space in time, Joni saw my circumstances differently than I could perceive them; she intimately understood the scope of my transition. From my vantage point, I existed within the unfamiliar transition of birthing, therefore I could only compute my immediate sensations: This is hard. I can’t do this. I could not otherwise grasp the broader landscape of what I’d already done, what I was effectively doing, and what remained for me to do.
And her words—you’re doing it—found me, anchored me, supported me, boosted me and propelled me all at once. I’ve relied on this glimmer of Joni’s wisdom to carry me through countless transitions since then.
I even referred to her wisdom recently during a one-on-one coaching session with my client who’d asked for my help to kickstart her midlife c…
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