Celebrating All the Moms

Dear Annie: My husband had been looking for a new job for three years. He is incredibly smart, talented and hardworking. At his old job, he lived on an airplane, bouncing from one country to the next. He was always on the phone and setting up or attending meetings.

In a nutshell, you would say he is very Type A and does not like to slow down. Well, then the pandemic hit a year ago, and he had to slow down. It took a little adjusting but, before I knew it, he was reading for pleasure, attending a prayer group and hiking with our dog.

Fast-forward seven months into the pandemic, and he gets an idea to start his own company. Right away, he gets all the right investors and is off to the races and doing very well, not only financially but also mentally. I couldn't help but notice that it was when he was doing nothing and relaxing that he was able to achieve more. He is just so much happier overall, enjoying his cup of coffee and taking the time to sit down and eat his meals.

There is a lesson in this that I hope you will share with your readers. -- Happy from Slowing Down

Dear Happy: It sounds like your husband was a hamster on a wheel going around and around and getting nowhere. This can be very frustrating and eventually lead to boredom or loss of motivation. Sometimes, getting out of our own way is the best thing we can do. Connecting with nature and slowing down can speed up our access to achieve all of our goals. Congrats on figuring out the formula that in sitting back and being an observer, you can get a lot done. You have also provided a perfect segue to my Mother's Day message.

Dear Readers:

To all the mothers, grandmothers, chosen mothers, stepmothers, caretakers and more -- happy Mother's Day! Here are a few of my recent thoughts.

In our society, we seem to value what has been called "masculine energy," which is the assertive, direct and action-oriented force. This is yang. And "feminine energy," which is the receptive, nurturing and passive force, is understood as yin.

All of us have masculine and feminine energy. It does not matter if you are male, female, transgender or gender-nonconforming. Your feminine side gets expressed when you move with the flow of life, embrace your creative energy, dance, play and pay attention to your internal thoughts.

There is so much power in feminine energy. So, I encourage all of you -- mothers, fathers and everyone -to embrace your feminine traits. Take some time to meditate, pray, go for a walk or connect with loved ones. Sometimes, slowing down is the best way to achieve exactly what we want out of life, just as the letter above recommends. When we are rushing all the time, we miss the forest for the trees, and then life passes us by.

To all the mothers everywhere, may this day bring you lots of love, joy and relaxation.