Life is a ven diagram

"I've never been text messaged during a sermon, before." - my mom

Before I launch into what will likely be murky theological ramblings for most, I thought I'd offer a little bit of background information. Last year, my mother, the minister, held pulpit at the church my current minister, in Atlanta, left in Texas. Right, then, what you really need to take away from that lesson in the creepily small world of Unitarian Universalist ministry is that my mom and my current minster are in communication. This past Sunday, Reverend Anthony began his topic directly referencing a book that my mom had sent to both my sister and me shortly after Kai was born.

To be fair, the book in question, Johnathan Haidt's "The Happiness Hypothesis", discusses how the key ideals we strive for, or should strive for, are not, by any means, new but have been mulled over for centuries, globally. I thought it was imperative that I text my mother who was, at the time, getting ready to lead her own Sunday service a state away, and let her know that her beloved book was being discussed. Something to the effect of "Are you two in some sort of book club?"

My hilarity, I know, is only outmatched by my incredible knack for manically diving headlong into a project too big for me to even get a bite out of. The masterpiece of the moment is Atlanta's first new wave, free standing birthing center. These resources have existed in the past but as of now, due to Georgia's strict laws on midwifery and rabidly territorial OB's, they are an extinct breed. Lawyers, doctors, politicians, business owners, drug companies and mass media are the only things standing in my way.

After a bit of research, last night, I found out that there is, in fact, a group working on policy changes. I signed up and reported for duty. In my research, I found out that the women working toward the same goal as I, are in fact the people who put on Orgasmic Birth (a documentary that has all of the "cool" names in birthing) screening a few months ago and the same people who delivered Kai's little Quiet Room friend at church (remember church?) six days after Kai's own entry into the world. I also took a spin on the website for my own OB's office to check how they listed their midwives. They are all credentialed as nurse midwives which are all that GA will allow. Upon closer examination, it appears that MY very own attending CNM did extensive fellowship work in a rural birthing center in TX which is often used as a birthing center model. What?

It looks like people are not only working on this but people I know and have access to are working hard and fast.

As my not so linear progression is turning out a little bit like a midwife's rendition of Alice's Restaurant (remember Alice?) I'll get to my point: everything is connected and nothing is new.

The idea of healthy, spiritual birthing is not new. Neither is the idea of a community of dedicated people working toward a common goal until the job is done. Birthing topic aside, the idea of renewing old spiritual practices in search new enlightenment is a topic that Jonathan Haidt, Reverend Anthony and my mother seem to find riveting. Connections have made most successes in my life possible and, I am learning, are that they are the only way to get anything done.

I therefore, will defend my choice of texting my mother on a very busy Sunday, as it is all part of the greater web that ties us all together. I will try to remember this in teaching my Pilate's class, tonight, to a group of women who think that Douala's are the people who tell the anesthesiologist when to place the epidural. Perhaps, in the sea of over medicalized wishes of my uptown clientele, I will find a connection to something I'm searching for.