It’s a given that mothers represent unconditional love, care and illumination. Whenever our lives become dark, cloudy and seemingly meaningless, we run to our mothers for guidance, because they’ve experienced most of the things we are going through, or will be going through in the future.
They, along with our fathers, are the reason why we’re here, alive and growing, and so we gravitate towards them without even meaning to.
No answer to our questions will suffice until it’s been given by our own mothers, because their words spell reassurance and security for us. A mother is someone who inspires safety, trust, love and concern.
But even as we acknowledge our mothers as being our refuge, our source for answers and guidance, we still neglect them.
The one thing we tend to do once we’ve spent a significant amount of time with someone, is to nitpick their mistakes and imperfections, to the point that things that aren’t normally irritating become so for us. We often do that to our mothers, too.
Yet, even then, they forgive us and forget the harsh trade of words as if it never happened, and we do the same. Sometimes, our pride won’t even allow us to apologize, and we prefer to erase the occurrence and go about conversing without incident.
Other times, we push our mothers away because we want to be independent and decide for ourselves—sometimes even going so far as to assume that a person could live without the continual support of others.
But our mothers persist, sometimes giving us space for a moment, and then later on, approaching us with open arms. We give in not because we are defeated, but because somewhere deep in our hearts, we know that the answer is in that embrace.
I’ve had my own moments where I would prefer to isolate myself from others while tending to my problems and my heartaches, believing that it would all be better if I didn’t involve others in it.
Never completely right
Other people in my life would try to tell me how to do things, give me advice and attempt to guide me, but it never feels completely right. I’m never sure of myself until I’ve consulted my parents, especially my mother.
Sometimes, of course, they say things that don’t help, things that don’t change anything about your situation, but in the end, while you stubbornly assume that you are never going to solve your predicament, you feel better. It’s because you take their words into your heart, into your mind, and even when you don’t learn anything from them, the fact that they showed you how much they love and care for you, through that simple act of giving you words of advice, warms your heart and instantly makes you feel better, lighter and stronger.
Somebody cares, somebody is there for you no matter what happens, and that knowledge alone is enough to get you one step closer to finding a resolution.
We love our mothers, it’s undeniable. No matter how hard we try to shy away from the fact that we do, it still shows. We think about them from time to time, wonder what they might advise in a given situation, and we long for their company. Even with our flaws and imperfections, they continue to love us and fawn over us as if we didn’t have any, as if we never did.
Their thoughts and actions that project their love and concern for us will always find their way into our hearts and minds, no matter how hard we try to ignore them, or no matter how unnoticeable or slight they may be. It’s because we just know they love us, and that they’ll be there; we could vanish into thin air for 10 years, and still find them by our sides when we materialize once more.
The love of a mother is infinite, limitless, eminent and unmitigated. Their love for their children lives on even beyond their own life spans. This Mother’s Day, treat your mother twice as special as you normally do, and give her all the love you can muster. Give back to the light.