Shifting World

Did I ever tell you about the time I got sprung for having a baby?

We were at the shops. I was carrying our 9 month old daughter and Chris was holding the hand of our almost 3 year old son when suddenly we crossed paths with a colleague from my new corporate accounting job.

"Hey Tara, I didn't know you had kids!"

I felt so exposed, like my "other" life had been laid bare.

You see, my previous job had been at the London office of a global investment bank where being a woman was enough of a career limiting move, let alone being a woman who was also a mother.

So I learned to lead a double life. At work, they knew I was a mother but it was rarely mentioned. I had left behind my floaty colourful clothes and big earrings and replaced them with monochrome suits, pinstripes and a professional pony tail. I pretended I didn't have a personal life and I was promoted.

So when I started a new job after relocating back to Sydney & having our second baby, my default mode was to keep being that corporate robot.

And then I got sprung at the shops.

Strangely, in that moment, I felt seen for who I really was - a multifaceted human. I felt like I didn't have to pretend anymore.

And that new colleague who got to see the real me? She actually ended up becoming a close friend. She made a lasagne for my family when we had our third baby. Our sons became firm friends at playgroup. Our husbands are in a band together. And she is a beloved member of our women's circle. Magical things happen when we can connect as fully seen humans.

It takes a lot of energy to hide who we really are from others. It takes even more energy to hide who we really are from ourselves. In the end, all the pretence just leaves us feeling disconnected.

The world as we know it is shifting and it's calling us to shift too.

Perhaps it's time to let those artificial walls and pedestals topple and fall.

Perhaps it's time to get to know our real selves and realise our interconnectedness so that we can walk each other through these times xx