Speaking Emotional Truthfulness

Elizabeth Lesser worked as a midwife through her twenties, and in her emotional honesty talk, she imparts what she believes to have been the most important lesson she gained during that time. Newborn babies represent pure human potential -- as she puts it, they have completely full and unimpeded souls. But as people grow up, they slowly don more and more disguises to cover up that soul in order to comply with social norms. While such a process is an inevitable aspect of society, it is nonetheless a loss, and Lesser believes that people should work to rediscover that lost soul as adults.

Another lesson she gives during her emotional honesty talk comes from the mothers' experiences. During the process of giving birth, contracting one's muscles and fighting against the pain only ends up leading to more pain, whereas accepting the pain and letting go makes everything easier. Transferring this lesson to everyday life, Lesser argues that any pain or difficulty is a metaphorical birth process, and accepting it can lead to more creation.