Mom’s The Word!
As I sit here and wonder what my happy day of motherhood should consist of, I begin to ponder the meaning of the day in general. First of all, where the heck did the idea of a day for mothers come from? Well, thanks to excerpts from Wikpedia.......
“In the United States, Mother's Day was loosely inspired by social activist Julia Ward Howe, and intended as a call to unite women against war. In 1870, she wrote the Mother's Day Proclamation as a call for peace and disarmament. Her idea was influenced by Ann Jarvis, a young Appalachian homemaker who organized women throughout the Civil War to work for better sanitary conditions.
When Jarvis died in 1907, her daughter, named Anna Jarvis, started the crusade to found a memorial day for women. Nine years after the first official Mother's Day, commercialization of the U.S. holiday became so rampant that Anna Jarvis herself became a major opponent of what the holiday had become. Mother's Day continues to this day to be one of the most commercially successful U.S. occasions.”
So as I sit here pondering Mother’s Day and motherhood while trying to find healing in my frustration about a day whose original intention has been turned into just another way for someone to make a buck, an email pops into my mailbox. A dear friend who knows of my thoughts on compassionate parenting sent me a link to an article related to my belief that world peace will only be achieved through the honoring, and supporting of mothers: (http://www.blog.newsweek.com/blogs/labnotes/archive/2008/05/06/how-child-abuse-gets-into-the-brain.aspx). As I read the article, I remembered a statement made by the Dalai Lama: "Change in society begins with the mother, who passes those feelings on to her family, which in turn influences society."
Change begins with the mother! Change begins with the mother! Our feelings influence society! So if every mother and woman I’ve ever spoken to over the years, feels like they’re getting the shaft from society, then why isn’t society being more influenced by those feelings? Is it because we are belittled and ridiculed for expressing ourselves emotionally? Have we been shamed into silence? Too afraid to be embarrassed by our own intense emotions on the subject? Or have we simply lost the ability to feel anything about it anymore, because we are too busy mopping, shopping, and dropping everything to serve our families.
How sad that the once venerated crown of motherhood now lays seemingly silent on the floor, frightened into silence, when in truth, it has the power to change the world. Mothers, more than any politician, lobbyist, or leader, have the ultimate power to change the world by expressing their feelings! So on this coming Mother’s Day, I will find my happiness by taking the time to pick the dusty crown up off my freshly mopped floor, and start expressing what I’ve always felt:
Raising children to be compassionate, peaceful, loving, kind, and respectful by teaching them with the same, and protecting them from anyone or anything which attempts to teach them otherwise, or compromises my ability to do so. Change begins through the expression of my feelings to my family, and in doing do I am changing the world.
Think about this for minute, if you would. Is there someone in your environment who prevents you from raising compassionate, peaceful, loving children? Is there something in your environment which compromises your ability to instill kindness and respect in your children? I can think of ten in my world, just sitting here. The media for example, which not only fails on virtually every count to represent me in an honorable and empowering way, but which also destroys the very things I wish to inspire in my children!
So if humanity is created by mothers, and we in turn have the power to influence it, then what are we waiting for? It’s time to reconnect to the strength of our feelings and emotions and actively express them in order to stop the machines which persist in trying to shut us up and sit us down. Mothers deserve to be supported, honored, protected, and rewarded for doing a good job. Where do we start, you ask? A great place to start is of course, in the home, and many of you are already changing the world for the better. I am so grateful for your work. You have my utmost respect and honor.
Yes, we mothers are busy. Too busy, actually. But you’re voice is a tool you can use while doing almost anything. Your feelings influence everyone around you. Express them. They are more powerful than you might know. Most people are very threatened by the female expression of emotions. Not only is it immensely healing, but it is proof enough for me that it is a force to be reckoned with.
Great places to express your feelings and support mothers around the world:
And there are many more. Do you know of other places to share, learn, and support mothers, families, and humanity in general? Send them to Sister Wolf Healing Retreats, as we build our “Sister Wolf” link page to all things healing and enlightening. In the meantime, we hope you will join us for our upcoming, “Pamper Your Soul” Women’s Healing Retreat or find the time to customize one of your own. When mom’s happy, everyone’s happy. Let the healing begin!
Jacquie Schwoerer
Cofounder, Sister Wolf Healing Retreats
Comments or suggestions? Send them here......
Happy Mother’s Day
Wednesday, May 7, 2008
