Headspace Studios. Hi, it's Dora, and welcome to Radio Headspace. So there was a moment not too long ago that has stayed with me. I was with my mom

and she was getting ready to go out. She asked me what I thought about what she was wearing. She was

putting on her makeup, adjusting things, checking in. And suddenly I had this very human realization. She is just a girl, not in a diminishing

way, but in a real way. A person who had a life before becoming a parent. A person who was

shaped by her own circumstances long before I ever arrived.

My mom is the oldest of seven children.

She had to grow up fast.

And later, she became a single parent caring for three kids.

Carrying stress, fatigue, responsibility, and pressure that never really let up.

In that moment, I felt something softened in me.

Relief, curiosity, and grief too.

Grief for how much he had to hold.

And how that shaped the way she showed up,

including the ways that that impacted me.

Now, I want to be clear that she showed up, including the ways that that impacted me.

Now, I want to be clear about what this episode is and what it is not.

This is not about dismissing harm, it's not about excusing abuse, it's not about forcing forgiveness where there has been violence or danger. There are situations where forgiveness is safe, not appropriate, or not something that you're

ready for, and that deserves to be respected.

What I'm talking about today is something else.

I'm talking about the moment when we begin to see our parents, not only as parents, but

as people, and how that

shift can open the door to forgiveness and self-forgiveness.

...