We all have one. It is the or one of the greatest karmic relationships you will have. This relationship will have the most intense energies in so many different ways that you will ever experience. It can teach you the greatest love you will ever receive… or not. You will experience the teaching of sweet love and giving of motherhood or you will learn how you would never treat another human being.
There are many possibilities in between these extremes. The mother/child relationship is intended to be complex and give you many opportunities to evolve.
So we celebrate???
It was on May 9, 1914, by an act of Congress, President Woodrow Wilson proclaimed the second Sunday in May as Mother’s Day. President Wilson established the day as a time for “public expression of our love and reverence for the mothers of our country.”
A form of Mother’s Day was first suggested in 1870, during the American Civil War, by Julia Ward Howe (who wrote the lyrics to the “Battle Hymn of the Republic”). She called for an assembly of women “to bewail and commemorate the dead” and to “take counsel with each other as to the means whereby the great human family can live in peace. Ms. Howe organized a number of annual gatherings in Boston beginning in 1872. Mrs. Anna Reeves Jarvis likewise was involved in the peace movement and called for a special day in which prayers for mothers and for their children would be offered along with prayers for peace and non-violent solutions for disputes between nations.
In 1907 Anna Jarvis, daughter of Anna Reeves Jarvis, took up the torch. Her campaign led directly to President’s Wilson’s establishment of Mother’s Day and gave rise to the tradition of distributing carnations on Mother’s Day.
It is worth noting here that Anna Jarvis became disillusioned with how Mother’s Day evolved, and in particular with the commercialization of the holiday. Jarvis “filed a lawsuit in 1923 to stop a Mother’s Day festival and was actually arrested for disturbing the peace when she protested the sale of carnations to raise money for a war mother’s convention. Jarvis told reporters shortly before her death at age 84 that she was sorry she had ever started Mother’s Day.”
Today is the one day of the year that we set aside to officially honor our mothers. For many of us… this is a most joyous day and we are happy to make the effort for the woman who gave us life…. and…..who was our first love…our first teacher….and, for most, she continues to be the most influence with us. We give thanks for that woman …. that mother and her never ending love that is still surrounding us… it is our armor against the world.
And many of you are mothering in that manner….giving all that you have to ensure that the life that was brought forth from inside you has the most optimal chances of surviving in this world.
Yes, most know that there is nothing like the love of that mother…. Her love is the glue that bonds the reality of the world with the love and peace we desire… and that was meant for us. This unselfish love is how we know something about the love of God Energy. It is in this love that we are able to go on…to become….
But… there are many who do not have an experience anywhere near what others will celebrate on this day. There are Mothers who are distant…cold and unloving…sometimes cruel and harmful. These are the Mothers who came into motherhood with very different energies to teach with. Sometimes… we can learn a deeper lesson from a villain than perhaps a saint. At a higher level of understanding, we know that it all comes to us out of love. A love that knows the way we need to learn for our evolution and growth.
Perhaps you do not want to celebrate this day, but good or ill, good relationship or bad, all of us would not be here without them. On at least this day, if not others, we should all honor those who birthed us and brought us into the world.
The following are tools for you to use on Mother’s Day. We honor ALL Mothers today.
A Mother’s Day Meditation: {Please read each sentence with intention and love.}
We align with the Goddess, Mother of all creation. We feel great gratitude for woman…. to whom has been entrusted the care of every precious human life from its very beginning in the womb. As it has been given to woman the capacity of participating in the creation of new life…. We hope and pray that every woman may come to understand the full meaning of that blessing, which gives her an unlimited capacity for selfless love for every child she may be privileged to bear, and for all children.
We send protection to every mother who is with child, and strength in her faith in the energy of creation’s care and love for her and for her unborn baby. We send her courage in times of fear or pain, understanding in times of uncertainty and doubt, and hope in times of trouble. May she feel joy in the birth of her child.
We realize mothers have been given the great privilege and responsibility of being a child’s first teacher and spiritual guide. May all mothers worthily foster the faith of their children, following the example of Mary, Mary Magdalene, Elizabeth, and other holy women who follow in the footsteps of our way showers.
We send energy to all “spiritual mothers”, those who, though they may have no children of their own, nevertheless selflessly care for the children of others — of every age and state in life. May they know the joy of fulfilling this motherly calling of women, whether in teaching, nursing, spiritual life, or in other work which recognizes and fosters the true dignity of every human being created.
We send the energy of the Holy Spirit, the Comforter, to all mothers who sorrow for children that have died, are ill or estranged from their families, or who are in trouble or danger of any kind. Help grieving mothers to rely on the tender mercy and love that is available for all children.
We most especially send love and healing to those whose mothers were abusive, neglectful, addicted, or who enabled fathers like this. Those who grew up in single-parent families, or who never got the chance to know a mother. Those who have not been able, for whatever reason, to form adult relationships with their parents. Those who wish they could become parents but can’t. Those waiting/wishing to adopt.
Those fortunate enough to have adoptive parents who love them. Children of blended families with stepparents. Those who had an abortion long ago and now feel bad about it. Those who never had an opportunity to become mothers.
Those who have had to “mother” their own elderly, crippled, or demented parents.
We send loving energy to all those that have been entrusted motherhood in all capacities. May knowing the Holy Spirit constantly inspire and strengthen them.
May they ever follow the example of Mary and all goodly women …being inspirited by their fidelity, their humility, and their self-giving love.
May all mothers receive Grace abundantly in this earthly life, and may they look forward to eternal joy in the lives to come.
Om om om.
A Mother’s Day Prayer:
Today, loving Creator, we pray for our mothers:
who cared for us when we were helpless
who comforted us when we were hurt
whose love and care we often took for granted.
AND, especially Today we pray for:
those who are grieving the loss of their mother,
those who never knew their biological mother, and now yearn for her
those who have experienced the wonder of an adopted mother’s love
the families separated by war or conflict.
For these…. we ask special blessings.
Remembering that we are united with God’s Energy and with each other, so that we can be and become all that we are meant to be. Bless us all. AMEN
