BaliYoga Event 14th September
NEW YEAR, NEW GOALS AND MORE LOVE
After happy happy and merry merry….New Year and new goals: gym, yoga and Pilates studios are getting fully booked these days. People are eating way better then they did all year, and making trips to a sauna to sweat it all out if they can. Feeling clean, new and fresh, with high hopes to fit back into their skinny jeans as quickly as possible.
If this is not your case you might be thinking “Fuck it, I am fat and in bad shape anyway!” . You might be counting down the days left in January, feeling like it’s already almost the end of the month and you are behind schedule…so you’re saying “why even bother? Just because it is a new year why do I have to go crazy, changing everything in my life? It would be so much better if I could just go back to Christmas: cozy couch nights with a box of chocolate and a Netflix overdose”.
Well, goals don’t have to be so big, the problem is that often people set a goal that is too big and they quickly get crushed by it. Setting expectations that are too high doesn’t help, as very often good things happen slowly. Don’t get me wrong, I always tend to think and dream bigger than I can ever dream of, but I feel like goals for the new year are a little different than dreams. They absolutely don’t have to be big, just big enough to fit into our days and make small, good changes, whether it be in your wellness routine and self care or for your family, children or partner. Changing small things that you know could work where you see space for improvement. Just take a little time look back into the year that has passed and think about what you would like to change or that you wish you would had done differently.
Or maybe learn a new language, like me: this year I would like to become fluent in Italian, to be able to speak Italian from the bottom of my heart. I also want to study yoga teacher training. To use my phone less. To spend my evenings reading books instead of watching TV, and so on.
I also think it is fun to take two dull months that can feel depressing and hard, such as February and March for many people, and make them interesting. Plan fun things to do during these two months, instead of just waiting for them to be over and for spring to come.
Learn something new. Have dinner with the girls (or boys) 🙂 Take a trip somewhere new. Light lots of candles at home to make a cozy atmosphere in this grey, cold winter. Do yoga: I suggest “Yoga with Tim” on youtube if you like to do yoga at home. Try to meditate: you can even do it just lying down with one hand on your stomach and one on your ear and just take long deep breaths with your nose. See how you feel. Just be nice to yourself and allow yourself to feel and be the way you are. Flow into the new year with self care and self love: there is nothing wrong with that. Actually, that is the key to a healthy, loving, blossoming life. It is hard to be happy when someone is mean to us all the time, and very often that mean person is ourself.
I would like to wish all of you a very special 2018, truly and from the bottom of my heart. I look forward to exploring Mother’s Spell with all of you and grow my team, as I would love to do videos and more recipes, yoga, Pilates and street style for mothers and kids too. Full action this year on spells and magic! Spreading love and light as usual, just stronger and more than ever before. I am enjoying your emails so much ladies and gentlemen, keep them coming, they are a true inspiration. I cherish every single word that comes from you all and write down your ideas and put them to action. I love this Mother’s Spell community and I hope to keep growing and learning from you and your incredible stories. Sharing is caring and in a strong community people stand together. Back to back. Let’s all set one goal together, to bring more love into the new year!
love JM
A LETTER FROM ON AIR PROJECT TEAM
Is the air we breathe really bad for us? As parents, we try to protect our children from whatever may harm them, but what can we do about air pollution?
OnAir is documentary for the web, a journey through the air we breathe, to understand what is happening to us and what we need to do. We started our journey in our city, Milan, the most polluted in Western Europe, and met the experts who have spent their lives trying to understand how air quality affects our health and wellbeing. We have also measured exposure to air pollution everywhere in the city, from the periphery to Piazza Duomo, in parks and nursery schools, for those who move around by bike or in strollers, inside homes or subway trains.
We have learnt that clean air is not just a question of health, but of freedom and quality of life, every day. The freedom to enjoy a walk with our children without worrying about pollutants in the air.
We are Maria Cristina Saccuman, science communicator and scientist, Alessandro Tosatto, director, photographer and video-maker, Paola Toia, social media expert, and Next New Media, an independent journalistic start-up dedicated to multimedia. But first of all we are parents. This is the trailer of OnAir
Thank you again for your support 🙂
Paola & co
BREATHE IN BREATHE OUT
A few days ago I was writing about the rain and how good it is, especially for our air. The quality of the air we breathe is extremely important and if you are living in Milano like me you may often feel like the only thing missing in your lovely Milano days is a good, deep, clean breath of air. So when it rains in Milano I hear so many people around saying “oh good at least now we have cleaner air for a day or two”.
Some of you must be tired to hear me speaking of Iceland but in this case it is inescapable as in Iceland you never lack a good, deep, clean breath of air! I have been spoiled by good air and water quality all my life so for me it is easy to recognize when I am in lack of one or the other.
Since I became a mother I am more curious about these kind of things: as mothers we only want the very best for our children. In my case it means not only taking good care of my own, but I also want the very best for all children in the whole world. It is my deepest wish and hope that the day will come when every single child world wide will get the care and love it deserves.
When I take my sons to Iceland I notice they sleep better and longer. They have much less runny noses and coughs even though the weather there is for sure more taught than here in Milano. I also started noticing while I am there that when I shake their covers out the window there is less dust that shakes off. I have to clean my house less often, and there seems to be much less dust on shelves and floors .I also definitely have to wash my hair less often.
I have started to wonder how to improve my sons’ life related to this in Milano as we spend most of the winter here and I just can’t bear any more guilt when I hear them cough so much each night. I would love to share with you now what I have come to notice and the good news is that coughing in my home has gone down by a lot so it must be working.
First thing I changed was cleaning the floors more often, YES that’s what I said. I am so sorry to have to tell you this, but vacuuming more often especially in the rooms where we sleep really helps to keep dust at a minimum.
Take the shoes off when you enter in the house and leave your coat by the door all in one place preferably in a closed closet, because otherwise you will be dragging dirt from the streets into your home. And if you look under your shoes you will see why this is a good idea.
Each evening I quickly shake my sons’ covers out the window before they go to sleep and every now and then in the morning too, before making their beds. I also change the sheet covers frequently.
Going as often as possible (preferably every day) to the nearest park is also a good idea. I often taken my sons to the park’s center (so we are as far from cars and traffic as possible) and we settle down in a little spot to investigate trees, sticks and stones. Look for all different kinds of birds and birds sounds and just relax in a good air quality and find something interesting to do. I try not to be always in my sons business so I let them also lead the way and enjoy sharing silence in the park. There is a saying that you are only comfortable in silence with people who you truly love. When my sons were still taking their afternoon nap I would take a walk with them in the park and let them take their nap in the stroller or pram ( and yes, also in the rain. :))
I made my home green by buying lots of plants for my home to help cleaning the air. I googled plants that are specially known for cleaning air and went and bought lots of them. Plus, they also cheer me up ! I feel my home is also more beautiful with so many green plants around, so here is that list of top house plants to improve air quality indoors that I found – but feel free to google more 🙂
Peace Lily
Florist’s Chrysanthemum
Devil’s Ivy
Red-Edged Dracaena
Snake Plant
Lady Palm
Flamingo Lily
English Ivy
Barberton Daisy
Weeping Fig
Boston Fern
Spider Plant
Dracaena
Aloe Vera
Bamboo Palm
Gerbera daisy
Then the ultimate thing I did was to buy high quality air purifier to our home. This option costs much more than the others steps for sure but I tell you my word it REALLY works. I use it to clean the air in our living room during the day and at night I leave it in our son’s room and this way they are always breathing well, at least while at home. There is no more coughing at night in my home so for me it is worth it, but I do understand it is not an option for every one unfortunately. I wish this could be in each day care school here in Milano as most schools or kindergartens are by big streets and when you ether live, work or study on or close to a big street with lots of traffic, the air quality will be very poor and most likely to be affecting your health. So I just want you to know about this wonderful option. The one I bought was recommended to me by an air pollution specialist and you may find more information here http://www.luxinternational.com/. On this website you will find also other products they have that can improve our health such as a high performance vacuum cleaner and water purifiers.
I am pretty sure you can use some of these information well. At least this has helped me and my family and we are all feeling better since we added all of this into our life’s and home. Now I just have to hope milan will get the attention it needs to become a safer place for all of us and specially our children. We all deserve a deep clean fresh breath.
Love JM
photo credit @stefanotrovati
WHERE THERE’S A WILL, THERE’S A WAY
Many people ask me how do I get my sons’ to eat vegetables. People say, “oh wow, lucky you! Your sons eat healthy food, my child/children just don’t want to eat this kind of food.
Children eat what they are told and taught to eat and most importantly what they see us eat. First food after breast milk is also very important such as fresh living foods, vegetables, and fruits instead of these factory made puddings and processed foods.
Of course, children, just like anyone else, have different taste. Some like broccoli and others carrots or zucchini. If your child will not eat broccoli it does not necessarily mean he has to have pasta or bread as an alternative.
I suggest that you don’t give up. Keep trying and hang in there busy mamma. Try other vegetables; I know they may cry or want to leave the table and so on (been there, done that) but you must try to set rules. If they don’t eat what is for dinner there is nothing else so, at some point, they will have to come and eat what’s already been prepared.
Find other recipes try different ingredients for soups or try homemade veggie burgers. I make vegetable burgers ( I will share the recipe soon) I make a lot and freeze it. It is easy to just pull this out, heat up and make some side dish such as roasted sweet potatoes and carrots. Steam vegetables and then blend them. Chop down the burger, put it in the bowl and pour your vegetable cream over it.
I do know this is all much easier said than done. Believe me, because I am right there with you in a sweaty kitchen trying to make my sons tasty healthy food while telling them they must eat and like it 🙂
One day I read a quote from a very funny comedy mamma on Instagram and she said: “ we are not our children’s’ friends, we are their parents and we have to raise them well so they will become nice, intelligent people and not assholes!”
This made me laugh but also makes great sense!
My mother and grandmothers say the rule in the house is love. Children need this so if they don’t eat their vegetables or the dinner that was prepared for them then they just don’t eat. In this way, they will learn to eat the dinner and lunch that their loving mother worked so hard to prepare. This will also teach them respect for food because it is precious.
I have seen children eating salads. I saw one at a festival in Ibiza a bunch of children 4-7 years old with a big plate of crunchy fresh salad and they seemed to enjoy it very much. I thought wow, everything is possible they must have been raised well. They also had such a beautiful light in their eyes and they spoke to each other like adults. This is rare to see in cities.
When my boyfriend and I eat lots of salad our kids also want to have it. Our children eat what we eat. They want what they see the adults or the children around them eating. If they are hungry they will eat what is on the table. My children were often snacking too much between meals. My sons use to come to the kitchen and say they were hungry and I would often give them something. Trying to buy some peace and quiet in the house but then when dinner was finally ready they would not be hungry and did not want to sit and eat. So in a sense, I did buy some earlier peace but now I had made another mess.
Well, of course, they did not want to sit still and eat their dinner with us. Until I told them to wait, no snacking after 4 – 4.30pm. Just play and wait patiently and the food will arrive later. All of the sudden dinner time became a peaceful event and they ate all the food on the plate. Sebastian stared at me and said, ” brava mamma e Buono” 🙂 AHAHA
Many of you have been asking me about the diet I feed my sons; are we vegetarian? What is the rule, the system?
Well, I don’t make a lot of rules when it comes to food, even though there are some things you will never see me or us eat such as Macdonalds or other shabby fast food. No coke or other sodas and absolutely not for my sons. I am lucky because I never even liked that stuff. Also, no processed meat of any kind.
Dairy is a delicate and popular topic and about 4 years ago I stopped it completely. I don’t consume dairy products and I feel so much better. My digestion improved a great deal and bloated stomach happens very rarely now. My skin took a U-turn in transformation. I swear I have fewer wrinkles, my skin is clearer and my eyes are less puffy. I do have one or two exceptions – Pizza that is one of my favorite foods and what is a pizza without cheese? If I visit to Puglia I might also taste their burrata.
It takes time to understand our bodies and all I can really tell you is to just try. See how it works for you. We are all different and if you are curious to make a change in your health take some foods out for a while and see how you feel.
When it comes to our children, my sons have never had dairy and I am not planning to give them any. They are very healthy at the moment and my doctor says they are in good health and that they are receiving all their calcium needs from green vegetables and seeds, such as chia. My sons are mostly vegetarian at the moment with some occasional fresh fish especially when we are in Iceland. I choose their food carefully as what children eat the first years of their lives sets the tone of their health during adulthood.It is also about the quality of the products we buy. I am constantly repeating to my friends, family, and clients that they need to read labels and understand ingredients. Sometimes we want to save money in the wrong category.
Now it’s a new season so a very good time to change for a new beginning. Think twice on your next grocery trip 🙂
love JM
Photos by @mamafedona
WANDERLUST ITALY YOGA FESTIVAL
As most of you know by now I am a Pilates Instructor. I studied and taught in New York for 8 years. In New York, I tried my first yoga class about 12 years ago and ever since I have been on my way to becoming certified as a yoga teacher.
I have always practiced and gone to many yoga festivals and training courses with all kinds of beautiful yoga masters and gurus. Yoga changed my life just like Pilates did but in a different way. Yoga does something deeper for my mind and I feel like it can move my emotions. Yoga has become a lifestyle as you can do it absolutely everywhere. All you need is a mat or even just a floor. With Pilates you can travel and take your Pilates with you everywhere you go and it does also become a lifestyle. They are not much different and kind of belong in the same family of exercise and I feel they mix together beautifully.
But now I would like to talk to you about Yoga and I am so happy to tell you that October 1st, yes NEXT Sunday, Wanderlust Yoga festival is coming to Milano, Italy in Piazza Leonardo Da Vinci.
I went to my first Wanderlust Yoga festival last summer in California, Squaw Valley and had a wonderful three days just dedicated to me, my practice and health. I learned so much by stepping very far out of my comfort zone surrounded by beautiful yogis from all over the world and being guided by so many masters and gurus.
When I was contacted for the Wanderlust festival the first time in Italy, I felt immediately happy and excited and I have now been waiting since early this summer for the big day to arrive. Now it is around the corner and I am ecstatic and nervous as I will give my first talk ever at this festival. Since I am not a certified instructor of yoga yet I will give a talk and you can sign up if you are interested. I will discuss the art of balance and how to bring it into your lives. The balance of healthy mind and body. One of my health masters taught me that good health all begins with good balance because a healthy body is a well-balanced body.
Many yoga gurus will be there but don’t let that stop you. Come learn, train and play. Yoga is beautiful as beginners and advanced people can practice it together side by side. No levels needed just a clear mind and the will to learn, explore and spend a beautiful day together.
When you buy your tickets, note that you can use this discount code – JMWL20217
go on @wanderlust_italy for more information.
http://mamafedona.pass.us/
Looking forward to seeing you all there.
love JM
Photos by @mamafedona
LET LOVE GROW
Love seems to be a mysterious thing. Sometimes we fall deep and the person we fell hard in love with can one day become a terrible asshole and very different then the person we thought he or she was.
I have had that happen to myself and I know many stories like this. For sure this feeling is not true love. Probably more like lust or the feeling thata spell has been cast upon you. Most times this ends very badly. One or both parties are in a lot of emotional pain and think they will never love again. Thankfully, most times we do fall in love again. Hopefully this time with a better person. A person who is capable of truly loving us and has our best interests at heart.
I am fortunate to have many close and good girlfriends. The majority of them are mothers and have relationships, so we often speak about them. How good or bad they are and what we want to obtain from them. I have heard many stories and love listening. It helps me to see life in a wider range, to visualize my own personal goals and set my own dreams. I feel that it’s smart to take in the good and bad. I find a way to relate other’s experiences to my own. I learn and grow with my closest friends. Also, with stories I hear or read and feel connected to.
I do want to admit I was a bit scared and nervous to write about this topic, as it is very personal with many different viewpoints on the subject. Also, with my posts I like to wonder and think aloud, if I may. With you, my dear readers, I learn so much and I am quite curious about LOVE.
It is a beautiful moment when we are in the first stages of love. Everything is new, magical and extremely exciting. If you are experiencing this moment right now I have to say ENJOY! Inhale it into the bottom of your heart and keep it there to remember for later on 🙂 . Life takes us on rides that are extremely unpredictable and it has always been my instinct to just enjoy every single moment of it. Enjoy the surprises!
Live life with as little pressure as possible and never ever forget to take wonder in the small things. Now as a mother (I am sure all mothers can agree here) it becomes harder to stay so happily in love when you can never finish or have a conversation unless you leave your own home. I have been thinking a lot lately how to keep love alive and growing. It seems to me that so many people in 2017 divorce, especially after they have a child. I am a child of divorce and although I have lovely parents I still really wish with all my heart that my children will not ever have to experience it. I believe it is beautiful to be part of a family unit.
With all the crazy social media out there we are starting to see life in a delusional way. We start to wonder and think that we also deserve this.
I mean why settle down with our snoring man that has a little beer belly when MAYBE we can have a “better” more perfect man. Our minds start to wander way too far from reality. I would sometimes find myself in this position when I was on maternity leave. As mothers we stay home with our amazing baby, that we absolutely love more than life, but at times we can get bored and start to fantasize about someone else’s life that we see on Instagram or Facebook.
I think this thought has passed every persons mind because of all this social media hype and it can make us forget about reality. I consider the beautiful art of balance as the power of EVERYTHING. Without good balance we are always swaying from one side to another until we eventually crash and fall head first.
When we are born we learn how to breath, smile, drink, eat and coordinate movements.. so on. It is extremely important to every mother and father to know that the way we love our children is the way they will love as adults. Love is something that we learn; it grows. My point is that if in your relationship you have problems with love or how to understand each other then try and learn a bit about the parents of your better half. Give thought to how he or she was loved and raised. It might give you ease to know it is not always so personal when the other person in the relationship is doing something, that in your opinion, is hurtful or unfair. Oftentimes they just don’t know any better.
Figuring out each other’s backgrounds can be a huge help. With calmer conversations and the desire to try and understand each other you can find a balance in your love. When you are so mad at your partner that your head is about to pop off your neck and your feel like running the other way, just STOP and take a HUGE deep breath – try to remember your first days together. Why you love each other and what he or she did in the beginning that made you fall so madly and deeply in love. This can save you from an argument that has no meaning because often we are just stressed out, tired and we need only to take it out on someone else. Unfortunately, the person you love the most has to pay that price.
I once had dinner here in Milano with a lovely couple that had been together for 38 years. I saw them laughing together and holding hands as if they’d just met! I had to ask if they had a special secret or any advice for me? The man answered; ” Well , just don’t fight. Don’t try to win your argument or prove your point. Most of the time it is over silly stuff and if you do try to win..well then the person you are supposed to love the most loses! I mean why on earth would I want the person I love the most to lose”?
I mean how beautifully simple is that? This has been stuck in my mind ever since and it makes total sense. Grow together, keep love alive, always remember the beginning of yourrelationship. Look at photos together. Find each other again and also time to just be you. Let silly rules go, you can now create new ones together. I see this has become quite long now. Until the next time the love topic comes up I truly hope you find your balance.
Love JM
Photos by @sagasig
HOW DOES ONE FAKE A GOODNIGHT’S REST? ICELANDIC MAGIC TO THE RESCUE!
Last week I wrote about natural beauty secrets. I want to share one secret with you that comes from my country. I believe I am very fortunate to come from a place on our planet loaded with natural powerful minerals and energy. A whole lot of good is done just by drinking Icelandic water and breathing in our clean air. Wherever you are there are some things you can do to obtain some of this magic without having to book a trip to Iceland.
There are women who are able to schedule their time well and take good care of themselves, which I think is absolutely great and we should all be able to do. Unfortunately, often time most of us end up chasing the clock and feeling like we are always behind in schedule.
This is one of my favorite ‘’pick me up’’ tricks that will do for any type of woman – a little secret from the nature of Iceland. I admit I belong in both categories depending on the day or month. My boyfriend and I have strange jobs, so we never have the same schedule for long periods of time. Some weeks or months are just absolutely crazy and I am late everyday. Always running around just to make it anywhere, but my goal is to always have some extra time and be well organized. I am pretty sure you all know what I mean!
As I said in my last post about natural beauty tricks. Taking good care of my skin along with eating and drinking well is my most important beauty trick. I started to use these masks after I became a mother, as every mother knows there is not too many hours of sleep with a baby ……let alone with two or more. And after awhile of too little sleep I always feel more wrinkly and kind of crazy looking 🙂
In all honesty, I never used masks before my sleepless nights started. This may be a result of passing 30 and becoming a mother of two. I have heard this from wise woman around me and most of my friends back home in Iceland use these masks.
The first thing I do when I wake up is splash some cold water on my face a few times to wake myself up. Then once a week I find a morning where right after my cold water splash I put a mask on from the Blue lagoon called “Silica mud mask”. I leave it on for about 5 minutes and during that time I start preparing my family’s breakfast by cutting up fruits for our morning smoothie. I then wash it off with lukewarm water and a soft cloth.
Dry my skin with a soft towel and put a layer of “Algae mask” that is also from the Blue lagoon while I finish making the smoothie, cafe, getting the boys dressed and having everyone ready and going for their day. When it is my turn to prepare, I wash it off with lukewarm water and put on a good day cream and I will have a fresher look for the day or even the entire week. Some days I even drop the boys off to school with my mask on and then go for a long walk, run or practice some yoga in the park. I wash it off as soon as I get back home. ( obviously this mask doesn’t have color, just a soft green hue, but once massaged into your skin it disappears 🙂 )
Anyways, if it is Monday morning or Sunday night when everything is calm and nice it is good to give your self a little treatment. Some “ME” time, even if you are doing something else while you have it on. Speaking for myself it gives me extra comfort when I am able to do a little something like this. You can also even do this at the end of the day while preparing dinner.
I have traveled to the Blue lagoon since I was a young girl, I remember going with my dad and brother on the weekends. It was so cool and at the time there were only outdoor dressing rooms and showers, so on cold days you needed to get ready fast and hop into the warm water. It is so beautiful there sitting on the rocks in warm natural thermal water surrounded by the powerful nature of Iceland. I had eczema as a child, so my dad brought us there and my skin would immediately clear up. Mother nature really knows how to take care of us, we just need to notice and be aware of her.
Now The Blue Lagoon is one ofIceland’s most popular place to visit. It has become very famous. As anIcelandic person and a very proud one. I can tell you this place is magical and the mud at the bottom of the lagoonis very useful and helps your skin to glow in natural ways. Make sure to pay them a visit on your next trip to Iceland.
Love JM
NATURAL BEAUTY
I have received many requests to blog about skin/hair care and my favorite beauty products. Honestly speaking, I am far from being an expert on that topic, but I do have some opinions and ideas of what works and what my skin and hair respond positively to. I believe our body and mind are connected. We are what we eat, what we feel and what we drink. If we have stress in our lives, it will effect us and also how much sleep we get and the list goes on and on….
My personal opinion for every woman is that less is more when it comes to make up. Of course it depends on the type of occasion; for special events and etc it is fun for the evening. However, daily it is too much for me personally and honestly I just don’t have the time. And if I had to choose between getting all dolled up daily or squeezing in a yoga class ,well then I definitely prefer to use my time practicing yoga 😉 Also, if you take good care of yourself you might not need so much makeup, but I do understand this might depend on your own personal taste and style. I think we are all most beautiful in a pure state of happiness and just being comfortable in our own skin.
It might also be because I am just not good at it and I don’t feel very comfortable with it on. It gives my skin rashes and drys it out and I feel like I have a mask on, but mascara is something I do pretty much every day, I rarely wear any other makeup on my face.
Skincare is the first and most important thing for me. I clean my skin each and every single night before I go to bed and sleep with a good natural hydrating cream on.
Also, don’t forget that our skin is an organ, our largest organ at that, toxic and unwanted material from our bodies are eliminated as well through our skin. So basically all the bad stuff from your body goes through your skin and the toilet. If you have a poor diet and eat fast food or food that is difficult for your body to work through it gives your sweat a different odor and your skin a different texture. If your diet is REALLY bad such as full of sugary food, fast-food, too much dairy or heavily processed meats your skin most likely will pay a price for it. You must eat well to earn your skin’s glow. You can’t buy a glow with expensive skin care products.
- Drink water and plenty of it.
- Get a good night’s sleep.
- Make sure each meal includes fresh vegetables.
- Avoid sugar as much as fire 🙂
- Drink fresh cold pressed green juices.
- Exercise and sweat at least 3 times per week
- Don’t smoke!!!!
- Make love.
- Spend time outside in fresh air.
- Laugh a lot.
What I see, at least in myself, is that when I eliminate sugar, white flower and dairy, eat plenty of vegetables, fruits, drink at least 2 liters of water daily and make clean good meals my skin flourishes. Try this out for about a week to 10 days and see how your skin will change. I know summer is around the corner and most women are thinking about how to get into bikini shape. It is never really comfortable to wear a bikini especially when you might have to run after your kids on the beach as well 🙂
I try to tell myself, ” oh well it is just a body and who cares”. At the end of the day we all care at least just a little…. So I hope this will help.
Love JM
@Photo, www.mamafedona.com
PEACEFUL HEART
For three months now Mothers Spell has been online up and running. It has awoken many small projects that I am so happy to be working on with other brilliant women and mothers. I can’t wait to share and get you all involved in them….hopefully soon 🙂
I have learned so much from these projects and this new journey Mothers Spell has taken me on. I felt the need to write a few words and to thank all of you who have been reading the blog and sharing your stories. Many of your emails have brought me to tears – both sadness and happiness as your stories are so many and every life is so different. Many mothers and women have to fight and fight to protect themselves and their children.
I have read every single email that has arrived and I have not been able to reply to all of them. I am also going to admit I am not really able to write from my heart in Italian just yet, but I am working on it. This has stopped me from answering the emails written in Italian and I apologize for this.
It is your emails that keep me writing and I learn so much from your happiness and your sorrows, just as I have learned from my own. This is why I really believe in sharing. Share and talk about what we go through. Once we get stuff off our chests and speak or write them away, we then can see ourselves from a different perspective and somehow it becomes much more realistic in our own eyes.
Something that would help me when I had things that I needed to deal with from my past (that I will continue to practice when I feel the need) is to write letters to noone. I will write down my thoughts and my feelings with the intention of never sending them or letting anyone read them – in this way I feel completely free to express myself. It’s as though I am receiving free therapy and also a very sacred one.
This is a woman’s journey and now that I look back and read my past I see all these dots that at the time seemed so pointless and I did not understand why they needed to happen in my life. Gratefully now they all have such strong meaning to me. When the moment was right and I was strong enough to handle it, it all started to make complete sense!
Upon awakening write down the first thing that comes to your mind. This all depends on the time you have or that day’s mood. Sometimes you may write a lot and other days you may want to jot down just one phrase or a few words. Later, if you have a moment, you can fill in the meaning.
My children have been my greatest teacher, they have helped me to grow and to feel calm in my heart. To find that piece of love that was always missing, at least for me. I have learned patience on an all new level, that’s for sure. At times it’s all a blur and I can even get dizzy with the chaos, but I am learning to practice patience and let time run its course. I will learn from my mistakes, improve my quality as a mother and find a good balance between myself and the mother in me. I also believe that when the moment is right we all find our correct answers and get to see who we truly are and what we want to be able to give to ourselves and our family.
To be able to do ALL that, think clearly and see ourselves from another perspective then taking a moment is so necessary. Do yoga, mediate, take a silent long walk, hike, swim or write your thoughts down. It will help so much to remain stable and grow strong as mothers and women.
I am also doing my best to keep up with my writing and coordinating this new life routine. From being a stay at home mother taking care of my sons and now running a small business. Choosing between writing or staying with my sons is not always an easy decision… as you all know. I applaud all of the working mothers out there who take multitasking to a whole new level, just as the stay at home mothers do by working double. Remember to also make room for yourself at the end of the day. Create your quiet place, as it is very important for your sanity and without it we collapse.
With a calm heart we will continue to do and master all.
Love JM