This summer, on holiday in Somerset we visited Glastonbury for a changing of the wheel ceremony. I found it fascinating watching the crowd while coralling my children (who were remarkably ‘well-behaved’), finding their spaces and quietly sitting with real interest – amazing how kids pick up on the ambience, the feeling of a place and the people within it. What brought out the cynical in me though, was some people’s very apparent annoyance at the odd gurgle of my one-year-old or movements made by the others. I know that many people find the idea of a spiritual practise – whether that’s yoga, meditation or otherwise – incompatible with children, but I would argue that people who can only find connection, inner peace, stillness, etc in a vacuum are missing the point.
Especially where busy Mamas are concerned, this concept of ‘Me’ time – however that manifests, from taking a bath or time for a massage, practising yoga or going shopping with friends – in order to connect to one’s ‘true’ self is just a cause of suffering. The idea that you’re only yourself when you’re quiet, alone, relaxed, whatever, is clearly just a fraction of the picture – your ‘self’ is transient, always shifting, undefinable, multi-faceted; ‘me’ time is all the time. We can all connect to our ‘true’ selves in any moment, while doing anything, simply by becoming more aware of ourselves in that moment, noticing it, seeing it shift and becoming aware of the next moment. Let go of the idea that a ‘better’ or ‘more spiritual’ self is only accessible at certain times within specific parameters.
As much to those spirituality seekers who were annoyed by my kids in Glastonbury, as to you Mamas ‘desperate for’ or sad at the lack of ‘me time’ or silent space in which to connect to something deeper; look no further, you are here, now.