Have you ever looked up while walking?

I take my now, 3 month old on a stroller walk every single day in the evening. It has become our daily bonding ritual. We take the same familiar path and walk for about 40 mins around the neighborhood. While its the same route, we discover new aspects about our environment daily. 

Our stroller consists of a bassinet with a hood. If the baby is awake, I lower the hood so she can look up. While she does tend to fixate her gaze on me, she will also look up at the sky and take in all of her surroundings. I try to match her gaze whenever possible to observe what she is. It is fascinating to me what her little eyes take in. 

She observes the tallest trees, colorful flowers, and the different kinds of leaves along our path. I must have walked the same path for 2 years or run/biked alongside of it, before she came along. And never once noticed the differences in leaves, the varied vegetation along our neighborhood, the abundance of fruits, and that we had tall palm trees in Northern California! 

Becoming a new mom has opened my own eyes in ways that I’d not previously anticipated. 

Innocence

Babies have very basic instincts. They need food, sleep and love. They look to their primary caregivers to meet those needs. Their innocence is endearing and frightening at the same time. It gives you an urgent sense of responsibility. It is something I have learned not to take for granted. This is a principle I see translated in other aspects of life as well. When you run a big team or have your own business, you become responsible for the livelihood of other people. They are innocent in the sense that they look up to you to have their financial and career needs met. It is a serious responsibility. 

Wonder

Following my daughter’s gaze when she looks up at the sky, fills me with wonder too. I notice things I previously did not. I am filled with curiosity and gratitude about our world. She is a daily reminder of how beautiful the world is, and that we have such an amazing gift to experience every day. Life on this planet is precious and it is up to us to make the most of it. There are many places to visit, people to meet and much potential to be lived up to. 

There was a time during my postpartum phase that I felt emotionally and physically drained. I also felt an intense attachment to the baby. Due to this, I developed an understanding of why some mothers choose to stay at home. I briefly considered what life would be like if I were to give up my career and transition to a stay at home parent. While that would have still made for a happy life, I later realized I would not be fulfilling my professional goals. And in order to be a great role model for her, I needed to be both personally and professionally fulfilled. 

Knowledge 

Knowledge can be obtained from everything and everywhere. I have been reading a wide range of books to her since she was about a week old. The books we read are on various topics, ranging from world geography, Indian mythology, numbers, space and more. My favorites are the ones on space, geography and mythology. Although I have always been a voracious reader, I seldom pick books up on these topics for my own reading. I end up with books on business, wellness and healthcare. This exercise has taught me that reading diversity helps us exercise different parts of our brain and improves problem solving skills. 

For example, I recently read Ramayana to the baby. Ramayana is about the duty of Hindus. While decisions taken during various stages of the classic may be grey, they appeared to be in the line of duty. Is duty always justifiable? Even if it is the cost of hurting your loved ones? Or is it at the cost of losing your own life? Or worse, at the cost of hurting an innocent being? 

Inspiration

Our baby inspires me in so many ways that it is hard to describe. Whoever said that having a kid is limiting, did not know what they were talking about. 

Watching our baby play and smile has filled me with serious determination. She has given rise to a renewed sense of motivation in me. And that’s why I am excited to share that I am working on something fun. Stay tuned to learn what it is!