May 2021

Happy May Y’all!

My heart has a lightness to it on these beautiful, cool spring days. We have made it through a long challenging winter and hints of both summer and moving toward some kind of normalcy are in the air. Can you feel it too?

As I began to sit with ideas for my mantra for May one word immediately came very strongly to me: Resilience. It hit me like a sack of potatoes in so many ways. 

On a macro level, resilience comes to mind when thinking about the challenges that the pandemic brought into every aspect of our lives and the multitude of ways we have had to move through and adapt, both individually and collectively. It has made me think of the BIPOC community of this country and their resilience and strength that they have had and continue to have to endure not just this past year of extreme socialized trauma but for centuries of trauma and injustice.

This earth and the changing seasons also echo the mantra of resilience as we watch the dormant ground once again crack open and bring life.

On a micro level, I cannot overlook the power of resilience when thinking of this business and our community, and how we have had to completely change the ways we operate and practice together, and how we still stand strong under the powerful teachings that yoga holds for us, together in peace, assurance, gratitude, and love.

And on a personal level, I am grateful for the resilience I have seen rising within myself as a business owner and as a new mother; the challenges through this past year have been real, exhausting, and humbling. They have left me raw and new in both a painful and beautiful way. I have had to tap into a new kind of resilience within myself that I didn't even know existed until there was no other choice but to move through and rise above my own fear, doubt, and unknowing.

With May being the month that also honors Mother’s Day I think of all the mothers and nurturers who have overcome the challenges of bringing new life into the world, whether it is human babies, fur babies or business babies, the act of putting the ego aside and rising above the self-doubt (does that ever fully happen?) to care for and nurture something outside of the self is so powerful and inspiring.

So my encouragement to you this month is to take on the mantra of resilience. Anytime that you see the self-judgment, “should” thinking or self-doubt arise, take a deep breath and just say in your mind’s eye, “resilience.” Let that single word flood you with the reminder that you have made it through everything thus far in your life. You have overcome each challenge and gained lessons that have taught you a little bit more about life and how to persevere. When you are in nature, look to the earth and trees and imagine their resilience. How many times have they grown life, shed life, gone dormant just to grow more life again? Look to your fellow humans, hold compassion for each being, as we never know what someone has gone through or is in the midst of working to overcome.

Thank you for your resilience and for your vulnerability. Thanks for your openness to do the work and thank you for holding space for me as I rise to my own resilience, vulnerabilities, and process. If you feel called to share, please tell us about ways you’ve found and embraced resilience. Let’s honor these experiences and rise together. 

Love you all,

Margot

You can watch the full Mantra video here