Overcoming “Pregnant and Pathetic”
By: Meredith Hansen Favero
Tags: Creativity, Careers, Spirituality, Work, Pregnancy

Overcoming “Pregnant and Pathetic”

“From Boss to Busted” — the life of a pregnant woman

As humans, on our paths towards fulfillment, we aim to create. Through creation, we fulfill our divine purpose. Through creation, we answer the question: What is the meaning of life?

The purpose of life is to elevate this world — to leave it in a state of higher consciousness than we found it. We do this through creation, which is a core component of human behavior.

Our opportunity for creation often comes through in our work — the jobs we show up to for somewhere between 40–60 hours each week. Here, we align our minds, bodies and spirits to commune, question and build a better today for our fellow human and for future generations.

If we are lucky, we hit our career stride somewhere in our late 20’s, right about the age at which the average woman in the U.S. is also planning for her first child.

In the midst of the great creative expression of our lives, many women find themselves 30+ weeks pregnant, wearing a bowling ball for a belly, and hitting up the bathroom every 20 minutes to pee barely enough to tint the toilet water. Do I even have to flush that?

When pregnancy brain doesn’t have us forgetting our client’s name or daydreaming about the Monster Cookie ice cream (buy it) in our freezer, we find ourselves fully distracted in nesting mode.

When will baby transition to her own room?

Where is that baby bathtub I stored away?

It’s probably time to get that breast pump ordered. Breastfeeding — woof.

There is good reason and legit science behind Maternity Leave Law, which allows women to take leave before baby’s due date. At that point in the game, it takes every bit of energy to fasten a bra around our bloated breasts, let alone partake in the creative expression of our careers.

For mamas in the late stages of pregnancy, every day is a greater challenge in the creative department: we are high on hormones, low on sleep, and running out of creative juju.

As our body and mind give way to the life inside of our belly, we find ourselves no longer aligned with the creative process in which we’ve attributed so many hours. At our jobs, we feel unimportant as teams plan for future goals without us; we feel unproductive as we eke out each hour of the day — tired and daydreaming.

We begin to feel like a different version of our established selves (ego alert!).

Where is the woman who is considered a leader at work?

Where is the woman who strives for the next promotion?

Where is the woman who willingly puts in extra hours because there is simply no excuse for a job poorly done?

The disconnect between the woman we were and the woman we are becoming is processed over and over in our egoic minds. Simultaneously, the loss of creative career energy causes many of us to feel “less than” the woman we once were.

Look inward

Time to check yo’self, Mama.

As a woman bearing a child, you are living out the highest expression of creativity available to humankind.

Your body is in a continuous flow state of divine energy for 40(ish) straight weeks. Women have no greater opportunity to engage with their divinity than during pregnancy, when our bodies work endlessly to develop the most beautiful expression of creative energy — a soul in physical form.

Engaging the “Inner Body”

Take time throughout the day, every day, to bring your consciousness to the inner body and feel your spirit alive there. Feel, also, the spiritual energy of your developing child.

The “Inner Body” is the spiritual energy that exists in every cell of our physical form — the force behind every regenerated cell and every vibratory process. We are able to engage with this energy by holding our thoughts, our consciousness, in the body. When held there, you will feel the body in its entirety, all at once and as one form. You are engaging the Inner Body, which induces an overwhelming sense of peace.

In this state, recognize the selfless nature of the body — all that it does for you and your child without asking for anything in return, similar to the role of Mother.

With your consciousness held in the Inner Body, realize the truth that you are living the highest expression of creativity as an expectant mother.

“Inner Body Vibes”

Throughout pregnancy, we may feel detached and ostracized by the happenings of humanity, but we should see this as an opportunity. Pregnancy offers the opportunity for us to step out of our day-to-day human roles, to take notice of what is happening now, within our very bodies, every single moment. Creating life is a process more profound than any creative work you could hope to develop with your mind. Understanding that life is divine is vital to the evolution of humanity, as we seek to grow in love with one another.

The creation of life within a mother’s womb is proof that life does not require the mind. Quite the opposite. The mind (not to be confused with the brain — the brain is the body) has an entirely passive role in the creation of new life. Life, Being, is an entity in and of itself.

While the world may feel like it’s moving on without you, remember that it’s just spinning. Your time to create through your career will come back full circle. Until Earth rotates to that space in time, offer your mind grace and your body gratitude.

Today, you may have binged one too many episodes and eaten three too many bowls of cereal. You may have let your mind drift straight out of that meeting and slept in past the opportunity to take a shower, but realize that in all of those squandered moments and in this very moment, you are in the midst of the greatest creation of your lifetime.

So watch, eat, wander and snooze on, Mama. There’s plenty of time to do NONE of these things very soon.