Becoming Spiritual

with Alicia Eichmann

Letters

Dear Homeschooling Mom

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I applaud you. I salute you. I adore you. My heart beats as one with you. Don’t ever stop, just keep going.

Your mission is sacred.

You have divine assistance ever ready to support you when needed. All you have to do is ask.

I prayed for years to join you. And now I am one of you. It’s been several months now. I just got my second ever homeschooling approval letter in the mail. It’s official; we’re set to homeschool for our first full school year starting this fall.

It’s interesting to have all the kids all summer knowing that there is no ‘relief’ in the fall, there is no break, no end, this is the new normal. Me. The kids. Doing life together.

And yet no relief was greater than getting that letter in the mail after sending in my letter of intent and our test scores as required by the state.

And yet it’s intense. There is always someone talking to me, touching me, interrupting me, questioning me. Someone is always eating, or pooping, or arguing, or talking.

Some days it is just intense and real, and I make it through. But some days it’s just heavenly and those are becoming more and more frequent. We’re learning how to get along, how to do life together. We’re finding routines, co-creating our days, our schedules, our outings, even our menu.

And then the fear returns. They are fun and wonderful and getting along, yes. But they take so much time, when will I ever work?

When will I write, when will I record videos, will they ever all sleep consistently on the same schedule? Please?

But then I remember to choose faith, to choose love, to choose hope, to believe in mission, purpose and alignment.

What has God put on your heart, for your children, for yourself?

I believe you can find alignment there, and a sense of peace and joy, that will give you a sense of purpose and alignment. And which in turn will give you an acceptance and ownership of your life. And that will revolutionize your use of your energy and your relationship with time.

Which in turn changes – everything.

Dear homeschooling mom, don’t ever give up. Yours is a sacred, holy mission, a beautiful task. Know this, you have everything you need to succeed, and whatever God has put on your heart in addition, a way will be made for you to do all that truly matters, all that you are meant to do and be, you will be given divine capacity for the task.

I have friends who work and homeschool. Knowing them bolsters my faith, as I hope to now lift yours.

You have the time and energy and creativity for everything you wish to do. Learn to listen to yourself, so you know what that truly is. Then really listen to your kids so you know what matters to each of them, and what really doesn’t.

Find what is true for you and your family. It doesn’t matter what other families juggle. What is important to you, to your husband, to the kids?

What are you doing just because?

Figure it out and stop doing it, and give yourself permission to find more time for the stuff that makes your heart sing, and then give yourself permission to make money doing it, if you want.

Your mission is sacred, God is your ally, and I am your biggest fan.

You’ve got this, momma, you’ve so got this.

With all my love,
Alicia

A Letter to a Blogger with a Mission

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I’m dedicating this post to an incredible lady I met yesterday. You know who you are.

Dear friend,

I’m writing to encourage you to undertake the endeavor which you explained to me at length during our first meeting yesterday.

You have a beautiful vision, and a gift lying dormant inside of you. Do not let your age, or your health, or your schedule stop you.

Because people need your message. A message of hope, of joy, of personal triumph in the midst of pain.

I do not understand, and can never fully know, what your audience experiences day to day. But you can, you do. You know, you’ve been there. You’ve lived it and conquered it, and continue to in the midst of daily trials to take ownership of yourself, to exert your joy, to decide how you will look at life.

You see the light shining through the clouds, the flower in the rainstorm.

Thinking about how to encourage you makes me wish I was a poet. How do I describe the feeling I feel as I think about your mission and the effect that I see you will have on people?

You are a leader. So lead. But not as others lead, as you would lead if you freed yourself to follow your dreams and meet the needs that you see.

You are surrounded by an invisible tribe of comrades, allies, friends and fans. As you open that place and begin to voice your message, they will appear, drawn to the light of your words, your voice, the light that is your life.

I beg of you, start writing. Sit down and ask yourself, ask your heart, “What do I truly wish to say?” and then don’t think, don’t second guess, don’t analyze. Just write.

Every day.

When someone like you, who is beginning to awaken, feels the urgency of life, feels the call to serve and to lead, when you choose to answer, to take ownership of your gift, to begin to put pen and words to paper – miracles start to happen.

As you write from your heart, you’ll see words that you know were not meant for you alone. So you’ll put them out there to the world. And you my friend, you have a unique bond with your audience. When you write from your heart, and write the encouragement, the uplifting message that they need, you will paid immediately in joyful gratitude by your readers.

Because here is someone who understands what they are going through. You know it, you live it. And yet you do not let it conquer you. You are in charge of your life, and your thoughts and your emotions.

You choose to interpret your life and give it meaning, and as you focus on all that is good, and express joy and gratitude, as you write and live and share from that place, you will not only inspire others.

You will free them. You will free them to see their life differently, to consider a different perspective on their life story. Your inner strength and force of will to find the good will release in them the inner power and strength of will to choose to see life differently.

And what is the power of changing how we see our own life story?

I am prepared to argue that it is everything.

Everything stems from what you believe about yourself, what you tell yourself about your life.

So go dear friend, and write.

Share practical tips and wisdom as well, never discount the impact of a small idea that helps them sleep better, or eat better, or do any small but significant life activity.

Share the practical stuff, the fun stuff, even the silly, lighthearted stuff, follow your heart and look to your own personality for ideas and content, in order to make it truly yours. Nothing is off topic if it brings your own heart joy to share it.

But always come back to your core message of hope and light. Determine in your heart that you will take time regularly, to slow down, to meditate, and then to share deeply from your soul the message that you know is the core of your mission.

When you do that, you will impart freedom to your readers, and truly liberate them to change their story, to find the courage to embark on their own mission, their own creative journey.

Write, dear friend, write.

If you want to know what inspired this style of writing for me, go read something by Steven Pressfield. If in doubt, start with Do the Work.

Dear mom, we see you.

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When you feel like quitting but you press through, when you’re patient with your children, when you clean up their messes, when your heart lights up at their smile, when you despair at the continual messes they leave behind, do you feel like no one knows, no one notices, no one cares?

We do. We see you. We care, and we are in awe of your devotion, your compassion, your perseverance, and your steadfast love for your children. We may not always say it, but we see your continual alertness and your never-ending sacrifice. Your work matters, you matter.

We may not express it very well, but listen for it when your husband kisses your cheek and offers to take the kids for the evening, when your friend tells you that you’re doing a great job, when your toddler shares his toy with you, when your baby smiles in her sleep, and when the clouds reflect the sun’s rays into a spectacular sunset.

Motherhood. The word is sacred. It radiates warmth, joy, love, security, sacrifice, hope, peace, unconditional love. All because of you, because of me, because of every mom who devotes every day to nurturing the little ones entrusted to her from above.

Every young mom lives in that strange space in between who she used to be and who she will become. Your life used to be your own, it is no longer. And yet your new identity feels unseen, unappreciated, unobserved and perhaps even unimportant.

Dear mom, your life is none of those things. You are seen and appreciated, everything you do as a mom is observed and important.

You must know, I need you to know, that we see you, and we know. You are part of the universal sisterhood of mothers, and we don’t need to know you to know you, or to see you to see you.

When we see you for a moment in the store or for an afternoon at the park, and we see happy, healthy children, we know what they represent for you. We’ve been there too, maybe just this morning, maybe last year but you are not alone, and you are understood.

Be at peace, breathe. Slow down and enjoy your children. Embrace the mess, and the work and the simple moments of joy. Time will pass and then the season will be over. And you will be seen for who you were and who you have become.

The toddler who drew on your walls will turn into the preschooler who lovingly draws you wonderful artwork. The baby who cried will become the school age boy who gives you daily hugs and asks how to make you coffee.

So know that we see you, and be released and freed in your soul – to see them. Truly see your children. Soak it up and drink it in, savor their uniqueness, feed their soul with your love and your strength.

(This is the key to raising a toddler by the way. You must approach them with the confident security of unconditional love, because they are frustrated with themselves, with reality, with the mismatch between their understandings and their abilities. You are their safe place to grow into themselves, to discover life and their place in it.)

Feel our support, be filled in your soul and let it energize you so that you are no longer empty but full of patience. And hope. And love. Because young children require all of this and the mystery of motherhood is the ability to give of ourselves daily, joyfully, at peace with being seen and unseen.

Dear mom, you are seen and loved. Your children see you, your husband sees you, your Heavenly Father sees you. And your fellow moms see you and we know. We know you as you are, we rejoice in your journey and we share it. We share your successes and your failures and we say yes, this is motherhood.