We're not prepared, but we must be. It's a fresh beginning – March has arrived!

Packing up the past month has been a ride filled with unexpected twists. It all started with many plans to explore Melbourne but it was more like this - Feb left me grappling with sickness more intense than I've ever experienced. I had so many plans for discovering new spots in Melbourne but it felt like the days bled into each other, a whole week in February was devoted to the slow process of recuperating from a relentless chest and sinus infection.

The silver lining in this cloud of illness has been getting some rest, and I feel so much better now, I’m so grateful for good health, never going to take this for granted ever again.

Standing on the threshold of a new month, like on the precipice of a new turn of events.

I almost always have this feeling at the start of each month, as I start to think about what needs to get done and what my intentions are…as seen from last month, they don’t always go to plan. Of course, God has his own plans for us, but I still like to hold an intention for the kind of person I want to be as I navigate motherhood, new transitions, changing and growing and really - just living.

I love this quote by Michelle Obama:

“For me, becoming isn’t about arriving somewhere or achieving a certain aim. I see it instead as forward motion, a means of evolving, a way to reach continuously toward a better self. The journey doesn’t end.”

Isn’t that what life really is? Evolving and growing into the next level of you, the next version of you - the version of you that you’re proud of.

When I reflect on the last 21 months of motherhood, there have been more challenges than I could have imagined, the demands on one’s self, physically, mentally, spiritually and psychologically are unlike anything I’ve ever experienced.

At the beginning, the first few months when you’re going through it, there’s no respite, it doesnt even seem like there is any end to the tunnel of exhaustion, sleep deprivation and confusion.

Every mother goes through this, but it’s only now that I’ve realised that this - THIS is the baptism of fire that we must go through in order to become the person equipped to love, protect, feed, cherish.

Goals, goals, goals. What do we have this month, then? To be honest, I feel more interested in the kind of person I’m becoming rather than what I’m about to accomplish next. Do our goals matter as much as the person we’re becoming? Do our achievements underline the inner evolutions that take place with each passing year? I don’t think that we, as a society really fully give that part of our inner lives any space.

To me, a good goal feels like this - I want to be someone who laughs easily and knows how to have fun, mother or not, I don’t ever want to lose the fun loving side of me. I want to be kinder to myself, have more compassion for myself and others, and also always remember to give others benefit of doubt.

My goal for expression - this month, find a way to write, everyday. Whether on this blog or on social media, or even updating my business website, the goal is to write every single day.

Being present - I want to continue to be a mum who is ever present to her child, I now know that these moments are all fleeting…they’re here now and gone tomorrow.

I want to be able to live with integrity, I want to keep the tiniest of promises to myself. I want to go that extra mile when it comes to creating, taking care of a friend, being of help to a stranger.
I want to give more than I take.

And lastly, I want to aim for completion not only with creative projects but also with blog posts and anything else I start. Lately, I find myself juggling various ideas and work projects, and I'm growing weary of the pattern of starting but not finishing tasks.

Good book: Feb 2024

Really enjoyed this book - Before the coffee gets cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi - a poignant, softly written narrative that deals with love, connections of different kinds, but the common thread that binds them all is time travel. The characters are able to go back in time, with constraints, to experience a day in their life, and their loved one. Left me with so much appreciation for the present moment! Recommended.