My journey to midwifery began just about 10 years ago, at 17, when I saw my first birth at a birthing center on the border of Juarez, Mexico. It was in that moment—that one shift of energy, where new life entered the world—that my whole life changed. I felt energy, purpose, and awe birth within me. I knew for certain, without a shadow of a doubt, that I had found my calling in this life, or better yet, it had found me.

My love for midwifery has led me into some of the most beautiful, interesting, and deep experiences that I have had. I have traveled and learned from different cultures of midwives, always seeking the underlying depth of what midwifery can heal in not only a woman, but in a community, and in the world. My journey has been—and is currently, and will continue to be—winding, changing and unfolding; much like the magic of the process of a birth itself. I find solace in that, as, to me, midwifery is not simply a job or a single destination, but it is an entire way of life.  When I chose to (or rather, it chose me) to become a midwife, I had no idea that I was committing to taking on a certain way to walk through this life. Midwifery is full, it is part of a larger cycle of all of life, it is a circle, a whole experience, full, not limited to a job and hours.

For me, the strength of my relationship to midwifery is only as strong as the strength of my relationship with Mother Earth. That is why, in order to be a midwife I must also, equally as importantly, build my relationship deeper and deeper with the one Great Mother who gives birth to all life, Mother Earth. (And she is especially showing us that right now. I mean really! If you want to learn about birth, just sit with the energy in the Earth in springtime!)

For me to be a good midwife, I must also be a gardener, cultivating life within soil, bringing forth birth, color, and nourishment. To be a good midwife I must also be an artist, to learn to be a humble witness of awe and beauty that fills this world, and to learn to translate that through my own hands of creation of art. To be a good midwife I must be a yogi, to understand that power of breath, and the wisdom of the physical body to know not only earthly strength, but also spiritual strength; to know balance, trust, and surrender, and be in tune with the teachings of the body.

Every day that I awake and honor and give thanks for the birth of the new day, is the day of the midwife. But today is just a deeper day of reflection and honor to all of midwifery, all of Mother Earth, and all of the other midwives on their paths. I am humbled to be on this ever-unfolding journey, today and every other day.