I do this because my left side is physically stronger, and my right hand is dominant, so I can complete other tasks while holding my baby. If I tried the opposite, I would be unable to sufficiently support the baby and also get nothing done.
Most moms cradle their baby on the left side. 65-80% of them do it, often without realizing they're doing it. The bias shows up across cultures, and even in great apes.
In theory, this is because when you hold a baby on your left, you put their face in your left visual field, which feeds into your right brain hemisphere. The right side of your brain is the one that handles faces and emotion.
Watch any group of mothers with babies. You'll see it.
What's interesting is that mothers with postpartum depression and high stress don't show the bias as strongly. Perhaps when you're depleted, your ability to tune in to your baby gets dulled too.
The argument that children hold you back, and keep you from achieving, only sounds true to those who don’t have children
Because everyone who has children knows there is no greater motivation to do better, become better, and make the world better than the moment you meet your child
I kind of suspect it's consciousness all the way down.
A worker bee or a chicken certainly doesn't have your range or magnitude of cognition but it probably exists in its own mental reality that can't be compared to a mere automation.
Put another way: people are not nearly enough cognisant of the fact that they are going to die. Like, really, actually, lights out die. You should be memento mori maxxing whatever your station in life.
You’re standing on a planet with molten lava at its core. Trees are turning sunlight into air you can breathe. Your heart is beating without you asking it to. There’s a moon in the sky and bugs that glow. This whole thing is absurdly beautiful. Don’t forget to notice it.