How work supports our lives

Every day I am touched by exquisite moments of delicate connection at work; a depth and purity of intimacy that is awe-inspiring and melting. Is the work of a midwife unpredictable, messy and full on at times? Yes. Is it an absolute honour, joy and privilege to walk alongside women and their families during their pregnancy birth and early parenting - a period of such delicacy and strength? YES. And if ever I am momentarily complacent, I pull myself up in the awareness of the momentousness of what I get to be a part of. So so so much more than we have come to believe ‘work’ is. 

And on that note, it has been remarkable to come back to this work after a childrearing and teaching decade and be freshly in the awe of how much work supports all areas of our lives. Yes there is the ‘9-5’ (not quite what it looks like in midwifery 🤭) that pays the bills, but the thing we get paid for is not where our work begins and ends. Every moment, every interaction, every breath and thought is part of our working lives; part of our service and purpose. And it is the purpose that is the life enriching, invigorating and vitalising aspect. So for those of us that may have retired or semi-retired and are filling our days with other things there is the opportunity to not withdraw into lack of purpose but to stay engaged with life and the richness of each moment. And this does not need to look a particular way, keeping busy is not the same as being purposeful... purpose is a rich, inner, interactive relationship with life, the world and our part in it.

Maybe I digress 🤭... for now, back to midwifery... the joy and privilege it is to be in this work... during the covid restrictions for example I could not make any sense of the hero-worshipping of health care workers. For those dire months of weirdness, inconsistency and uncertainty, I got to go to work, to be with people, to touch and connect and it was only out and about in the world of grocery shopping, for example, that I had to remember the confinements and induced fear.

Maybe I digress again 🤭... 

Midwifery is the job I have been designed to do. There is no doubt here. And it is not a ‘job’ that is confined to my working hours. I live and breathe it, not as in I cannot leave my work behind when I am at home, but that it is innate in me and is also not confined to the act of attending a pregnant women. Midwifery is a beholding, adoring, deeply respectful role that is alive every moment in every interaction... embracing and honouring all that women, families, relationships and yes, work is.

Do I love that this is my life, that this is my design? Absolutely YES. 

Matilda B