At my best
Many years ago I attended a graduation ceremony. It was the usual program, with one notable exception: an interesting commencement speaker. I didn’t realize it at the time, but the speech he gave that day has guided me through many major events in my life. Most recently, the lesson in the speech served as a powerful metaphor for my birthing experience.
The speech began innocuously enough. The speaker encouraged each of the new graduates to be themselves. Those were his words of wisdom. He told them to go out into the world and just be themselves. Not terribly profound, is it? But then he said the part that has stuck with me for over 10 years. He said, “Do more than that, actually. Be your BEST self.” He said it wasn’t enough to go through life being genuine, but that you had to challenge yourself to live up to your fullest potential.
I’ve certainly not been a model for this creed, but I find it to be a beautiful aspiration. I never realized how powerful the sentiment was, and how it applied beyond simply pushing yourself to be kinder, smarter, and more productive, until I gave birth to my son.
I had decided to have an unmedicated birth, and took an intensive child-birthing class in order to prepare myself. That class was empowering and eye-opening. I headed into my labor and delivery with a head full of knowledge and the strong sense that I could do anything.
I was right. That day, when my son emerged, was me—my body—at its best. I got out of the way and simply let my body take over. In that moment, I was truly my best self. I was doing what our bodies are made to do. I had asked my body to perform at its highest level, and it did. How often in life can we look at ourselves with a sense of awe? Maybe the graduation speaker knew the answer when he gave the speech. But I’m certain he didn’t know that one recent graduate sitting in the audience would take his words to heart, and figure out much later that his words would be the most inspiring way to describe the wonder of a natural childbirth.