It’s a Sydney dawn on this beautiful Sunday morning. The red autumn leaves are rustling on the trees outside as I sit thinking of what I can teach my youngest daughter about Mother’s Day. Is it all about buying flowers and enjoying lunch together? Or is it about acknowledging the greatest gift of our lives.
From the moment we are born and cradled in our mothers’ arms we experience the milk of human kindness. This is the first lesson we all learn as infants. It’s also the greatest gift we ever receive from our mothers. It’s the gift of unconditional love.
My mother often said to me seven words that would make me feel loved. It also made me feel safe and secure. These words were the cradle of support for my heart. She would say them to me whenever things were not going my way. Typically, it was when I came home from school with hurt feelings. It could have been from doing poorly in a school exam or failing to make the soccer team. Whatever the disappointment, I remember that my mother only ever had to say these seven words to lift my spirits and make me feel special and valuable. As I grew into an adult, these seven words also made me fearless in business!
She would say, ‘I love you always, no matter what.’
This was Mum’s way of saying that no matter what I did and no matter what happened, she would always love me and have a special place in her heart for me. It made me feel like I could accept any problem or handle any challenge. It gave me the courage to take on challenges without fearing failure. Most of all it taught me to love myself.
So what is the greatest gift we can give our mothers in return? The same gift of course. We should love our mothers unconditionally and remember that mothers are not perfect. They did their best in what was ‘a mans world’. It was not easy being a woman in the 20th Century, let alone a mother. Being a mother was, and in some places continues to be, a thankless and payless job. So remember this if and when you consciously or subconsciously judge her. Push past the imperfections and remember the greatest gift you ever received from her. Acknowledge that whatever love you have for yourself came from her.
I know I am posting this journal entry at the wrong time for most social media activity. So it will probably be lost in cyber space. But for those of you who get to read it, remember to forgive your mother for any pain that you might be holding onto. Love your mother unconditionally, like she did you when you first born.
I am lucky enough to have a daughter. She teaches me a lot about women. I look at her and see my mother. I realise that women never truly grow ‘older’. They all like to dance and play dress-up. So today I am taking my mother dancing! (With my wife and daughter. It should be fun 🙂
Have a great day and may you always live from the heart.
Sam.