By Shirley Riga
Becoming a mother changed my life
For my children are my teachers
I couldn’t treat my babies
With disrespect and hardness
For these innocent beings
looked to me for comfort
Looked to me for safety
Looked to me for nourishment
I was the vessel
They trusted
Their eyes helped me
Recognize my role
Their rawness helped me
Dig down deep
To find my courage and
Determination to survive
To help them thrive
And rise to become
Their own vessel
To nurture, love and grow
I am the star in their eyes
I am the guide in their explorations
I am the edge of their safety
I am the support when they fall
Their innocence holds my knowledge
Their trust holds my focus
Their challenges hold my courage
Their beauty holds my confidence
I am the starry-eyed student
Growing into wholeness
Strong in courage as I age
Into the vessel
Held by Mother Earth
In honor of Mother’s Day, I pray using this poem
Divine Mother
"Divine Mother of All there is, Whose essence lies within us all and in all things.
Please fill this place with Your sacred light and presence.
Please protect me and heal me.
Please bring me to wholeness and wisdom.
Make this a day of fresh starts, new beginnings.
Melt all obstacles in my path--gently, gracefully, lovingly.
Reconnect me to my highest self.
Awaken me to what I need to know next.
Let my higher self select and connect with the divine energy that is right for me, right now.
May I be uplifted and empowered by Your Love.
So be it and so it is."
PARTICIPANTS’ REFLECTIONS:
I liked the last line ‘empowered by love’. How we can empower our children, how we were empowered by our parents, by Mother Earth. Fear is empowering, and all the more reason to be motivated to empower self with love.
I like the image Earth as mother. There was a powerful wind yesterday which was hard to walk in. At the same time, I experienced the beauty in nature, so profound, even strong wind. Love has many manifestations. Strong love, nurturing love. We need a balance between tenderness and hard boundaries.
It’s tough for me today. My daughter is in another country. She usually summers here, but now she can’t. I feel the stark reality of separation. I have to trust. She is smart, she knows how to take care of herself and her family.
I suggest imagining a couple of angels and sent them to her to be by her side every day and night. Send that energy, that intention.
I’ve lived in Europe and Mother’s Day is not a big day in Europe. Women receive gifts on International Women’s Day. We can give self something as a woman. I took my second class in art education yesterday. I have a picture of mother as an art educator, I have that image in my mind. I just realized that I gave myself a mother’s day gift.
I too gave self a mother’s day gift. I bought a fragrance. I’ve stopped wearing them around people. But now I can and it’s wonderful.
The crystal bowl behind you illuminates and when rung, it's beautiful.
I loved the last two lines, so powerful. I had to learn to listen through love. I taught myself to listen to my dad and to talk to him through my heart. There us so much fear around us, and I have to remember to stay in my heart.
Let’s take care of Mother Earth as we walk around today