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Series: bride blog
Series: pregnancy & parenting

How to Start a Movement by Dancing, Shirtless.

April 15, 2013 · by gemmaruthbrown · in Culture. ·

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5 WAYS TO LOOK AFTER THE PLANET TODAY
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Happy birthday to the girl I’d have picked to be my sister even if we didn’t share parents! 28 years of excellent living.

You know that all-important new stationery shop for your first day back to school? Well, I kind of adapted it for my first day back to work! I picked up a few work handbag treats and wanted to share them on here with you (as did Baby B, obv.) He is grabbing the @georganicsuk mouthwash tabs, which are toxin AND plastic-free 👏 Next to them is my @jobrowne_ireland solid perfume (again, no toxins or plastic in sight!) and DIY @youngliving Stress Away roller which does exactly what it says on the tin. Above that is my @kutis_skincare deodorant which is the only natural deodorant that works for me, which I got from @doyourbit.ni. Then my Smash reusable coffee cup which is the PERFECT size for an uncommitted hot drink drinker 🙈 and the latest issue of @turfandgrain to enjoy on my commute. Voila! I’m now almost home and ready for baby cuddles so I’ll see ya later!

Today is the last day of 14.5 months of just him & me, kicking it by the sea (most days!) as I am ‘officially’ back to work tomorrow. It’s been the best year of my life. So grateful to have been given this little life to nurture and for the chance to have taken extended leave and witness all of its wonderful moments so far. ❤️

Someone told me the other day that fighting sexism was an empty cause that was done and anything that was claimed under it now was simply exaggerated offence. I dream of a world in which that kind of statement is true, but right now - it’s not. And what I want you to remember today is that even if as you read, you can’t recall ever being harassed or mistreated or violated because of your gender, your salary is equal to your male counterpart’s, you never feel under pressure to present a certain way, your domestic set-up is completely shared, you’ve never been told you’re too much or not enough as a woman, etc...that is NOT the end frame. Because even if you and I find complete freedom and empowerment, there will still be others who do not. So this #InternationalWomensDay, I’m pledging to spend this year seeking out and handing the mic to those lesser heard voices. Women of colour, single mums, women living in areas of conflict or natural disasters, women stuck in underemployment, LGBT women, women survivors, women living in poverty, differently-abled women. “If you have come here to help me, you are wasting your time. But if you have come because your liberation is bound up with mine, then let us work together.” Lilla Watson

Baby B’s first #PancakeTuesday (well, technically second, but the last one he was too #milkdrunk to notice.) This was, obviously, pre-rolling...but tell me this, do you go thin & big or thick & small? Having grown up on the French border I am firmly in Camp Crepe.

“One of the gifts of contemplative life is acceptance. As we practice letting go, we learn to receive - all that is good within us as well as all that remains a challenge. [...] A contemplative approach to the Enneagram invites us to rest the reductionism of inner fragmentation; to realise we aren’t as bad as our worst moments or as good as our greatest successes. Father Richard (Rohr) once told me, “To cast great light in the world also requires a long shadow.” Both belong. Facing the whole of ourselves rescinds the permission we give to the fragments to lay claim to the whole of our identity. [...] The Scriptures tell us, “Love your neighbour as yourself,” but most of us never really learn to love ourselves, thinking we can make up for this deficit if we practice loving others. We have to practice what love is by making room for who we are - the good and the bad. Otherwise, the love we offer others will always lack the depth of its potential.” @chrisheuertz, The Sacred Enneagram. I truly believe that learning to know and to love ourselves is one of the greatest gifts we can give both ourselves AND those around us. If you want to chat about how the Enneagram helps us do this, I am ALWAYS up for it!

#FebruaryReads - three again this month which I’m chuffed with! I’ve found it so relaxing to choose a book over watching something on TV or scrolling my phone, and I’ve really felt the benefit in my soul, too. (You know what I mean?) First up was @dollyalderton’s memoir - it is essentially a love-letter to female friendship. A funny, quick read. Then I moved onto @jodipicoult’s novel about prejudice and power. Like I said last month, novels are not my ‘go-to’ - this one had me hooked from the start and I am still pondering all it taught me. Gripping storyline, brilliant characterisation, challenging subject matter. And then finally, @chrisheuertz’s ‘Sacred Enneagram’. I’m going to have to read this again...several times. It is packed full of wisdom and tenderness and provocation. I read it less as an Enneagram scholar and more just as a 1, looking to find my ‘way home’ as Chris puts it. This has been so helpful. What have you been reading recently? And what should I make sure is on my list in the next few months?

Curtin’ like it’s 2012 🍦

G E T O U T S I D E. Maternity leave has been a pretty life-changing year - I’ll remember it forever. Of all the daily rhythms and patterns Baby B and I have adopted, getting outside has perhaps been the most major. Rain or shine, and the earlier the better. Fresh air, nature & other human beings just keep things real (regardless of how much or how little sleep you’ve had).

Twitter

@TurfandGrain @blickstudios @crookedshore @Davidmitchelldr Also @BrandonHamber 1 hour ago
@TurfandGrain @blickstudios @crookedshore @Davidmitchelldr would have some good stuff. Also Derek Poole - he is an encyclopaedia. 1 hour ago
@natweetalie @SPCKPublishing Congratulations Natalie! Fantastic news! 1 hour ago
RT @U105radio: LISTEN ¦ Kids front NI launch of £3m UK aid-match appeal to reduce plastic pollution around the world - @Tearfund_NI https:… 1 day ago
RT @Tearfund_NI: Tune into @U105radio at 11.20 this AM to hear Tearfund NI Director @RuthBev talk to @frank_broadcast about our new #UKAidM… 2 days ago

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5 WAYS TO LOOK AFTER THE PLANET TODAY
The invisible mother
Cutting corners at Christmas
The stories we tell
An afternoon at Loaf Pottery

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