Michelle, on Voice. Sling Diaries, Vol VII.
The Sling Diaries, Volume VII. A photo-documentary chronicling the art of baby wearing in the lives of families around the world. Over the course of six months, Sling Diarists will create their own Sling Diary though a series of diary entries interpreting a unique theme given to them each month.
Meet all of our Sling Diarists here.
ON VOICE
When you speak to yourself what does your inner voice say?
Do you value yourself, Do you feel worthy, Are you good enough?
Our voice is easy to veil over as something different to the outside world, to ones not watching us closely. We can make this veil seem as one of empowerment, no self doubt, we are good.
But what about those small beings that follow and gently nip at our feet daily? Can they see right through us? Do they see the lack of value, the lack of value we see in ourselves? Can they see we are working to change our inner voice…
I can think back to my first years as a mother, and how much inside I felt “I can’t”, “Im doing something wrong”, “she deserves better”, and in fact my first born did deserve better. She deserved better than the thoughts of doubt that led my being. We often wonder what we are teaching our children when it comes to self image. As we look in the mirror at ourselves and they watch in the background as if they are an understudy. We may catch ourselves taking a step back, hesitating from wanting to suck in our tummies or smooth out an imperfection we find on our face.
But what do we do when the mirror isn't there?
What do we do when our subconscious takes over and when our child gets a peek at our innermost thoughts?
Are we going to be okay with what they see, in fact are we okay with what we see in our soul, in our being?
As I ponder these thoughts I'm brought back to a vivid memory of days after my last (Mabel) was born. The newness had worn off for my eldest and the toll had taken, she was refusing sleep, now hours past her bedtime, my patience thinned and finally I snapped in anger. Leaving the room telling her she must put herself to sleep, all chances were gone. I was done, but next I heard her mumble as she cried “Im just a stupid girl”. GUT PUNCH!
Without hesitation I entered her room, grabbed her tightly in a hug, and said “you my girl never say you are stupid, you are smart. You are wonderful, loved, kind, you are beautiful”. Next I had her recite these back to me, it eased her but I was still shaken.
Our inner voice can either build us or tear us down into nothing.
We must push past the unworthiness and make us enough to ourselves.
Make a strong inner voice for our children to follow past the self image, past the bad days of guilt we burden on ourselves, meet ourselves with “I am enough”.
And as I now recite my sons own saying's to him, as his eldest sister has her own set of inner voice words and as she follows with “I am smart, I am…”, he follows with “I am mighty, I am magnificent, I am marvelous”. May we as the leading voice think the same, me we evaluate when we find ourselves less than, and make ourselves more than. Pave a road of self love, self appreciation, we deserve nothing less, and our children deserve it even more. Pave a road for them to follow.
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