This week, we’ve been asking mothers to share their 𝐌𝐎𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐑𝐇𝐎𝐎𝐃 𝐉𝐎𝐔𝐑𝐍𝐄𝐘. We interviewed two amazing moms; Cameron Lee Barnum and Maya Kerthyasa. We’ve compiled their interviews here, to serve as inspiration for other mothers (and fathers!) and as a celebration of the divine feminine.

MAYA KERTHYASA

𝙱𝚊𝚕𝚒-𝚋𝚊𝚜𝚎𝚍 𝚆𝚛𝚒𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝙼𝚘𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛 𝚘𝚏 𝙻𝚞𝚌𝚊𝚜

𝚆𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚍𝚘 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚎𝚗𝚓𝚘𝚢 𝚖𝚘𝚜𝚝 𝚊𝚋𝚘𝚞𝚝 𝚋𝚎𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚊 𝚖𝚘𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛? 𝙰𝚗𝚍 𝚠𝚑𝚊𝚝'𝚜 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚑𝚊𝚛𝚍𝚎𝚜𝚝 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚊𝚋𝚘𝚞𝚝 𝚋𝚎𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚊 𝚖𝚘𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛?

Motherhood awakens a different kind of intuition. I really learned to listen with my heart, and that’s one of the greatest joys of motherhood, for me. There’s also the undeniably delicious moments of love and cuteness and laughter. The hardest thing for me is seeing my son struggle in any kind of way, then learning to embrace that and let him experience his emotion. It’s challenging but important.

𝙷𝚘𝚠 𝚑𝚊𝚟𝚎 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚗𝚘𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗𝚜 𝚘𝚏 𝚠𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚒𝚝 𝚖𝚎𝚊𝚗𝚜 𝚝𝚘 𝚋𝚎 𝚊 𝚠𝚘𝚖𝚊𝚗 𝚌𝚑𝚊𝚗𝚐𝚎𝚍 𝚘𝚟𝚎𝚛 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚕𝚒𝚏𝚎𝚝𝚒𝚖𝚎?

Becoming a mother gave me a deeper understanding of love, duty, and responsibility, and it made me more compassionate towards all women, including myself. For me, being a woman – with a child or without a child – is about embodying the inner mother, because mothers create, mothers sacrifice, mothers nurture, and all the women I know contribute these things to the world. Mother Earth is an intrinsic part of the feminine being.

𝙳𝚘 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚋𝚎𝚕𝚒𝚎𝚟𝚎 𝚒𝚗 𝚕𝚒𝚖𝚒𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚒𝚖𝚙𝚊𝚌𝚝 𝚠𝚎 𝚑𝚊𝚟𝚎 𝚘𝚗 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚎𝚊𝚛𝚝𝚑 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚌𝚑𝚒𝚕𝚍𝚛𝚎𝚗? 𝚆𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚜𝚝𝚎𝚙𝚜 𝚑𝚊𝚟𝚎 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚋𝚎𝚎𝚗 𝚝𝚊𝚔𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚜𝚘 𝚏𝚊𝚛?

I believe all humans have a responsibility to nurture the planet. So as well as taking steps myself, I believe strongly in raising my child as a custodian – not just doing the work for him. I encourage my son to garden, to respect the spirits of the land through storytelling and prayer, and to help take care of our animals. And as a family, we choose to fuel our bodies with naturally grown food and surround ourselves with products that impact positively on the environment and other people.

CAMERON LEE BARNUM

𝙾𝚔𝚒𝚗𝚊𝚠𝚊-𝚋𝚊𝚜𝚎𝚍 𝙿𝚑𝚘𝚝𝚘𝚐𝚛𝚊𝚙𝚑𝚎𝚛, 𝚂𝚞𝚛𝚏𝚎𝚛 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝙼𝚘𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛 𝚘𝚏 𝙾𝚝𝚝𝚘

𝚆𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚍𝚘 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚎𝚗𝚓𝚘𝚢 𝚖𝚘𝚜𝚝 𝚊𝚋𝚘𝚞𝚝 𝚋𝚎𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚊 𝚖𝚘𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛? 𝙰𝚗𝚍 𝚠𝚑𝚊𝚝'𝚜 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚑𝚊𝚛𝚍𝚎𝚜𝚝 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚊𝚋𝚘𝚞𝚝 𝚋𝚎𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚊 𝚖𝚘𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛?

I’m only a month into being a mother but being able to watch him grow right before my eyes has been incredible. All the loving, feeding, soothing, snuggling, and changing endless diapers has been equally enjoyable.

𝙷𝚘𝚠 𝚑𝚊𝚟𝚎 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚗𝚘𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗𝚜 𝚘𝚏 𝚠𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚒𝚝 𝚖𝚎𝚊𝚗𝚜 𝚝𝚘 𝚋𝚎 𝚊 𝚠𝚘𝚖𝚊𝚗 𝚌𝚑𝚊𝚗𝚐𝚎𝚍 𝚘𝚟𝚎𝚛 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚕𝚒𝚏𝚎𝚝𝚒𝚖𝚎?

Over my lifetime, especially recently, I’ve realized how incredible it is to be a woman. I’ve been lucky enough to grow up with the encouragement from a loving family that the possibilities are endless no matter the gender. However Women have this special gift of growing, birthing, and nurturing the future that has forever changed our capabilities in my eyes.

𝙳𝚘 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚋𝚎𝚕𝚒𝚎𝚟𝚎 𝚒𝚗 𝚕𝚒𝚖𝚒𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚒𝚖𝚙𝚊𝚌𝚝 𝚠𝚎 𝚑𝚊𝚟𝚎 𝚘𝚗 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚎𝚊𝚛𝚝𝚑 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚌𝚑𝚒𝚕𝚍𝚛𝚎𝚗? 𝚆𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚜𝚝𝚎𝚙𝚜 𝚑𝚊𝚟𝚎 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚋𝚎𝚎𝚗 𝚝𝚊𝚔𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚜𝚘 𝚏𝚊𝚛?

I absolutely believe limiting impact with sustainable options is not only good for the earth but also my family. We’ve taken steps by cloth diapering (which cuts down tons of waste to landfills), using reusable water bottles/straws/containers, making our own household cleaning solutions, DIY organic skin care, and purchasing products that use sustainable practices like Indosole. Even just implementing one thing can make a huge difference.