In the fall of 2013 I started my abundant mama journey. It began with an ecourse with Shawn L. Fink of The Abundant Mama Project to become a more present, intentional, abundant, relaxed, playful mama. I had been following Shawn’s posts on her blog since the spring of 2013 and signed up right away for the wait list for the course. I didn’t want to miss it! Her posts immediately spoke to a part, deep inside myself about the type of a mother I was aspiring to be and my journey through motherhood.
My journey started almost 8 years ago with the birth of my eldest who I call Mr. Black Licorice on my blog. The amount of joy and pride I felt when I first held him was only matched when I birthed my second son, Mr. Yoda, and finally my daughter, Miss Ballerina. Everyday there are moments when I look at them and think wow there is something in this world that I created, nurture and whom depend so heavily on me for pretty much everything. They deserve the best mama I can be.
But by 2013 when my youngest was 2 and half years old I felt lost, overwhelmed, fatigued, and unmotivated as a mother and a wife. I felt like I was walking around in a zombie like state and I knew that is not the way I wanted to be. I want to experience joy in the ordinary everyday living of being a stay at home mama, I want quality connections with my kids and husband, I wanted to feel more in control in my own house and I wanted to nourish myself again. And so my abundant journey began.
This is me and the kids this past Christmas.
Through the course, Shawn gets you to do a lot of soul searching and journal writing. This is completely up my alley as I love to write. We began with topics such as what does my sweet spot look like, writing a love letter to myself, and creating action plans for those really hard days. The ecourse was just the beginning. Then in January of 2014 I joined other abundant mamas from around the world in The Abundant Mama Project where through Shawn’s wisdom and guidance we tackle monthly themes in what she has called the Peace Circle.
Last year we started with a Self-Care practice in January and this topic is something that is a focus for the whole year. Last year I made meal planning and decluttering my self-care practice as I really needed to feel more in control in my own house. Here is the result from last year.
I began meal planning in January and ended up following through for about 12 weeks. Until I had added it up I hadn’t realized that I had lasted 3 months. I thought that was pretty significant for a start. So this year I am at it again. The goal is to add another 12 weeks of meal plans.
Here are some shots of the decluttering I did throughout the year. And this year I’m even more motivated to take a really hard look at the items in my house and decide which ones help to create a positive energy in my home.
2015 Self-Care practice will be to increase the consistency of practicing yoga and my meditations. One of the projects last year was to create a sacred place in our house that I can call my own and where I can go to recharge, relax or just regroup. This is something I will be more focused on this year. The one practice that I do try to do everyday is write in my gratitude journal which Shawn really had us focus on. It is the first topic in the course. This is my current journal.
What I love the most about the The Abundant Mama Project, Shawn, and the group of women from around the world is the positive support and encouragement available to the members . There is no guilt if you miss a project. And well, Shawn is truly the yoda of mamas. She is right there in the trenches with us. In journaling recently reflecting on my abundant journey I wrote that I wanted to be calm, centred, connected, content, confident and in control. These are my 6 C’s that I feel are necessary in my abundant motherhood journey. I believe the process is just as important as the end product and through The Abundant Mama Project I am beginning to enjoy the in-between moments again as much as the big ones. If you feel like this is a journey that might interest you, I encourage you to visit The Abundant Mama Site and discover where your Abundant Motherhood Journey may begin.
Here is Shawn’s latest 10 Posts to Encourage you on Your Happy Motherhood Journey
Cheers as always,
Bonnie
