Mother's Day is a time of honoring and appreciating our mothers and what they have done, given, and sacrificed for us. This weekend, I wonder if each of us could take time too to honor how we have mothered (and fathered) our own lives; how we have nurtured, cared for, guided, loved, and brought into being our own selves.
So often we focus on what isn't going well, or how we are flawed, but we rarely hug ourselves and say "Job well done!" When we do allow in some praise, it's usually because others have given us recognition for something outward we've done.
I'd like to reverse this pattern, now and always, and encourage us all to start a new process this weekend of thanking and honoring ourselves as well as others, and saying to ourselves:
"I am a loving and nurturing mother/father to myself. I always do the best I can. I am aware of my gaps and dedicate myself to my continued growth. I am growing in my loving acceptance each day."
This is a great start, I think, to being on the continual path of caring for and nurturing the very essence of who you are. But try as we might, there are times we slip up. Not to worry. We can ask for assistance in helping us understand when we go astray and are not providing loving mothering to ourselves.
One way to do this is that we say the following each morning:
"I ask the Universe today to please give me a gentle nudge when I am not mothering myself in a loving way."
I have found that when I make a request of this nature, within the course of the next hour, day, or week, I am given an immediate nudge (in a thought or event) that shows me directly how I have strayed from caring for and honoring myself. Try it out! You'll be amazed. But remember to ask that the nudge be a gentle one!
As a therapist and coach, I spend a great deal of time with people in crisis, and am always thrilled at the rapid (often miraculous) growth the human spirit experiences when in relationship with another who can love, understand, and empathize with them. We've been so conditioned to doubt ourselves and question our own motives and beliefs, and this self-doubt can be utterly demoralizing and paralyzing.
The most powerful approach I know in helping people overcome their crises successfully is facilitating their ability to gain a rock-solid belief in themselves, to trust their instincts, and to know that they have a right to (and an essential purpose in) following their own path, despite any and all objections from their "tribes."
If you are contemplating an important change in your life, now may be the perfect time to take action on it, and to "mother" it into being with confidence, trust, and love. Some key reasons for wanting to make significant change in life are:
- A wake-up call is received
- Necessity emerges (you feel you have no other choice)
- You desire to move way from suffering and move toward joy
- You wish to find more meaning and purpose in living
- You desire to pursue talents and abilities that have been underutilized
- You want more fun, relaxation, restoration, passion, and JOY
- You desire to make a difference
- Finally, you want to make your time on this earth count
Do any of these resonate with you?
If so, change is in the wind for you, and you can begin to mother it into being today. Act as if you are the most powerful agent for creative change in the world. To lovingly "mother" yourself and your life, you must:
- Give birth to your ideas
- Produce the changes you dream of
- Create positive movement for yourself
- Watch over your ideas and your endeavors with love
- Nourish yourself each day
- Protect yourself and your ideas and dreams from those who would keep you smaller than you wish to be
Let's take this opportunity today to honor and cherish not only our beloved mothers, but also ourselves and all of those individuals who helped "mother" our spirits and creative endeavors into being. These individuals have helped us be all we can be, and for that, and for the positive energy they've helped us release, we are most grateful.
If you would like to share your stories of individuals who have "mothered" you or your creative endeavors into being, please share them on my blog, Reinventing Ourselves. We'd love to hear from you!
Thank you for reading and sharing.
Happy Mothering!
