Mother Others - Diane Marie Ford

You do not have to give birth to a child to be a mother. You do not have to have children to be a mother. You can begin with you and expand out to mother others.

If you think about the qualities your mother possesses or possessed, her special traits and effortless actions, you will find that you, too, can mother others even if there are no human children involved.

When thinking about my mother, Leah, the first quality of hers which comes to my mind is compassion. There is no time like the present to shower others with your compassion. The world as we know it is in need of much more compassion and understanding.

We may be preaching to the choir, but it is always good to pause and take a look around. Make the time to take in the signs and learn what the world needs now. What is missing? What is being depleted, what is lacking? Then think about your own mother… Is/was she judgmental or understanding, patient or quick to snap? Does/did she encourage you to be your best, pursue your dreams or does/did she simply not care?

There are many ways to approach motherhood just as there are many ways to respect and love all sentient beings. When you pause and take a look around your corner of the world, what do you feel you could contribute to make it a more “motherly love” sort of place to live, keeping in mind your own mother’s traits and behaviors and how she nurtured or neglected you?

If you were to make a list of the areas in your own life which could use a sprinkle or two of motherly love what would that include? Kindness, patience, compassion, empathy, understanding connection, caring, love? We are all capable of giving more and the act of reciprocity is priceless.

You can mother others and many of us do a fine job of mothering our animal companions, the elderly, the less fortunate, even wildlife.

We may mother others by exhibiting kindness to a stranger, help a fledgling bird back into its nest, donating our time or belongings, caring for and loving ourselves a little deeper.

If you take the time to think about it, mothering others is simple.

Many motherless daughters and sons miss the physical presence of their mothers who have transitioned to spirit, especially when Mother’s Day rolls around. Is there someone you can mother, with whom you may share your love and kindness?

I recall the first Mother’s Day I was motherless – I sent Mother’s Day cards to all the mothers I knew. It was my way of sharing my mother’s kindness while soothing my own pain, although I was not aware of that at the time.

You may want to go ahead and mother others. It feels so good to those giving and receiving (remember reciprocity is priceless). You may wish to mother others throughout the year.

Our mothers mothered us every day of our lives and you can mother others any time spirit moves you. Love is all there is, yet kindness and compassion are wonderful runners up! So go ahead – mother others and feel the love.