Books I’ve been loving lately.
The slowdown of these late stages of pregnancy (and the late night insomnia) has seen me pouring over books lately. I’ve actually decided that this is something I need to do all the time not just every now and then – there is something about reading that makes me feel like I’m on holidays!
These are the books I’ve been loving lately. (A couple birth/ pregnancy related and a few motivational – there is something about the new year that makes me want to read these sort of books).
This book is one to motivate you to start living the life you want, today. No more waiting to feel successful, affluent, connected, etc. No more, I’ll be happy when… Danielle LaPorte believes we can all start living the way we want right now as long as we go after the feeling rather than the list of accomplishments we believe we need to achieve.
I like especially like her points on business and how we choose to spend our time (because we so often get caught in the trap of feeling like we have no choice in the matter). “Busy can be great. Busy can suck. But most often, busy is a choice…We fill up our lives. That’s what humans do. The question is what are you filling it up with? … Whatever is on your plate is on there because you said yes to it.” – Danielle LaPorte
High: A Party Girl’s Guide to Peace
Whilst my ‘party days’ are long behind me (a 2 year old and one on the way will do that to a person), I could really relate to a lot of the destructive thoughts that Tara talks about in this book. In particular the section on getting over FOMO (fear of missing out), getting stuck in comparison and her approach to relationships and holding space for our significant others is relevant for everyone, regardless of what stage of the ‘party’ you’re at.
“Often the women I work with experience this attachment via the emotional state of comparison. They feel as though it’s a force in their life over which they have no control. Ultimately, however, the choice to really feel the breadth of that suffering is ours in its entirety… We choose how deeply we feel jealousy. We choose how deeply we feel anger.” – Tara Bliss
For me, the comparison that I had to get over was in my relationship. I had to get over the fact that there really was no comparison between my experience as a mother and Andrew’s as a father. Yes, I could look at it as completely unfair (his seemingly unchanged freedom, the expectations of our defined roles, etc) or I could let go of the comparison as something that was only causing me suffering and embrace what is instead.
If only I had found this book before I had Eamon… But I’ve spoken about that sort of stuff a lot lately (maybe too much?) so won’t go on about it any more. If you know someone who is having a baby, buy this book for her. It will teach her everything she needs to know about how her body works during labour and birth. Very empowering.
Summed up by … “There is no other organ quite like the uterus. If men had such an organ they would brag about it. So should we.” – Ina May Gaskin
Bountiful, Beautiful, Blissful
I thought I would love this book for its reference to Kundalini Yoga (something I am hoping to learn more about this year), but in fact my favourite parts were her wisdom on how having a child changes you and how the whole 9 months of pregnancy play a role in this transformation.
“Your definition of self changes from ‘I’ to ‘we’. To have a child is to undergo transformation… You cannot birth intellectually. You birth sensually, intuitively, primally and spiritually. … The biggest word is surrender – birthing is like life, there are no guarantees.” Gurmukh Kaur Khalsa
My only criticism is that I wish there was more advice in there on relationships, especially because what she does say is so spot on and exactly what I needed to be reminded of going into newborn territory again.
“We are sixteen times more intuitive than they are. Don’t resent them for that – they don’t have the same characteristics as we do… That is our vastness, that is their singularity. Love them for their differences! … Trust your man to provide, and you will give him the strength to provide. Enable him to be excellent.” Gurmukh Kaur Khalsa
So tell me… what have you been reading lately? I need some more recommendations, especially as I’m about to have time at night whilst feeding and I’d rather not waste it on Facebook!