This piece of Ancestral Intelligence is part of the Tiger Moms Project

Transcription:

Facilitator 0:00

I'm so inspired by your mother, and by you, and by your relationship with her. Before... before we close, is there anything else that you would like to say in this space that you feel needs to be said, and hasn't been said yet?

Nour Batyne 0:15

Mmm. I mean I just wanna say thank you. Thank you to all the moms. Motherhood is sacred. I mean, we spent nine months in their wombs... in their bodies.

I had a moment recently... my best friend growing up, my childhood friend - like sister - had a child. And I happened to be there a week after she had her child, which was beautiful. And I got to spend a few nights with her. And she was breastfeeding.

Being with a mother in the first 10 days of having a child, you really under-- you're like, wow... You understand that your existence as a human depends on your mother's body for at least the first year. At least. And the first time the mother breastfeeds her child, their heartbeats sync. And I learned that as I was with with my friend. And so that night, I was staying with my mom, obviously, and I went back... "Oh my God, breastfeeding, like, why didn't you tell me?" And she's like, "What do you mean, I've been trying to tell you." And I was like... I just like... I kind of like thanked her and it was one of the first times that I just like... I just want to say like... thank you for keeping me alive.

She was so young. She was younger... she was 29. So she was two years younger than me when she had me. Also being her age when she had me... and now being two years older, puts so much in perspective as well. I do not think that I can currently give a child, anything that my parents were able to give me at this age, you know what I mean? So... that's that. That's where I close.

Facilitator 2:04

That's so beautiful. I... I want to honor your mom in this space for like... passing these things on to you and teaching you and guiding you, even when you didn't get it. And I want to honor you for having the self-awareness to continue recognizing these little bits as they come to you, as you continue - because it doesn't all happen at once. It's not like one magical conversation when you're like, "Oh, I get it, like, I get my mom now." It's like it happens and it keeps happening for the rest of your life. And like... you being able to take that on, acknowledge it, embody it, and then like... integrate that into your relationship with your mom is really, really beautiful. And to finish that off, like, I also want to honor your mom for her patience and like... seeing that come full circle and just being there for it. Wow.

Nour Batyne 2:56

Thank you so much for... for inviting me to... to share it - my mom's and my story. And that's the thing, right? Like their stories continue with us. Always. And I love that your t-shirt says...

Facilitator 3:09

Take up space!

Nour Batyne 3:10

Take up space! That's what I would share back with my mom, like I hope that she takes up as much space as she humanly... as humanly possible in every space that she moves in, because she deserves that.