Gracias a la Vida!

Photo courtesy by Namitha Venkat

Yes, I am a woman in labour. But here is the thing—I am not alone.

The midwife is here and watching over me. The water boils, the towels are ready, the bed is soft.

I am surrounded by hands that hold me and caress my aching back. And whispers of assurances. Flowers of love on my doorstep, cards that say I can, emails and inbox messages that say that I am believed. And somewhere a kind soul readies a bath. Yes, I am surrounded.

And outside beyond the curtains, there are those who pace—praying, wishing, wondering anxiously for me and what I am to birth.

Yes, the pain comes in cycles, in spasms, in increasing frequency.

The night deepens. I lose it. I am angry with that moment when I was impregnated with the desire to know more, to be more—nah, to be. I lash out against myself furiously—of decisions made, of journeys undertaken, the burden of that yearning.

The room seethes and becomes heavy. Souls gather more closely—to hold, to guide. Gentleness descends—there is no return, no retrace. I am now in being.

Yes, I am a woman set to deliver. But here is the thing—I don’t birth alone, we birth together, each and all of our freedoms, to be, to just be.

 Gracias a La Vida! Thanks to Life!