Dear Ones,
Welcome to the Center of Happiness, where we all reach for our boldness and dare to move closer and live out loud who we truly are!
A belated Mother’s Day acknowledgement to you all. OK, some of you may not think of yourself as a mother, but in my heart I see all women are mother’s in some way. As I pondered what to include in my newsletter/blog, that niggly little voice within, that haunting presence that usually defies and bends the rules a bit, dared me to be vulnerable enough to send to you the letter I sent to my daughters and niece on Mother’s Day. They each are amazing mothers not because they are perfect, but because they are courageous enough to make mistakes and learn from them along the way. Each have two wonderful kids, and each of them have one of their children with special needs. We have been blessed, stretched, and challenged by cancer, autism and ADHD, all the stronger for it.
So, I bow to the power of all women who are daring to stretch their perception of who they think they are to embrace and show up as who they have always been… one step at a time until the quantum leap.
Here is my letter…
Hello my dear AMAZING Mothers,
We all are mothers in some way. We mother a plant, a pet, a project. You are mothers who took on an unexpected assignment… be it balancing and integrating cancer or autism into your family. I know you are on a relentless journey of loving and accepting your special needs kids just as they are without push or expectation, and at the same time it is demanded of you as mothers that you hold relentless hope and take a stand for unfolding their fullest potential with the faith that it is possible. It seems like a schizophrenic request, and yet as challenging as it is, it is a spiritual quest that provides you with an expanded awareness of life that others can’t see or appreciate. You develop another sense. In an often times and understandable resisted form, it is a gift. Really? Yes.
Lucky you! You are the pioneers of unconditional love. You are a significant part of our evolution as humans… as women. You are holding hands with your child in their full support and are their courageous and persistent advocate amidst an ocean of certainty where their are no real answers… at least not in the neat package you want them in. Your kids are special not because they are ‘less-than’, but because they chose this challenging sacred contract to serve us all, make us more patient, more loving, more forgiving.
They invite us in their awkward ways to accept our human foibles and see joy in unlikely places. Life as their mom is relentless. It is demanding. It is rich. It is good. It is uncertain and scary. It is painful at times, and as a result it becomes even more treasured at others. It provides laughter at unusual things and appreciation at unusual times. It requires that we take love to a new level. It insists that we love and forgive ourselves as well as others along the way if we are to experience the journey with any joy at all. Self-doubt, self-pity and feeling a victim often find you when you are exhausted and worn out.
These short-comings are a part of the journey that, because you are resilient and signed a sacred contract, too, you will tire of complaining and blaming, stop tolerating and keep stretching, and see mistakes as opportunities to learn. You will remember that you are surrounded by those who love you if only you will receive as well as give. Because you are continuously nudged you will refocus on the blessings and surrender control, remembering from time to time that it is only an illusion. You will learn to laugh at times where crying seems more appropriate to the untrained eye. You will remember and celebrate your imperfect perfection and theirs, and continue on… one step at a time… trusting it all matters somehow.
Most people swim in pool with clear edges to reach for or in the ocean where their feet can touch the sand beneath. Things like autism, cancer, and other life obstacles, force us, despite our fears of leaving the shore, to drift far from the it to discover, when we stop resisting, that we are buoyant when (and sometimes because) our toes can no longer touch bottom. It is turbulent, unpredictable, has cross-currents, and sometimes it is easy to get caught in an undertow, but true life, happiness, and learning is what is happening on the edge of your comfort zone where we learn to float and swim, not where it feels safe and predictable.
And as hard as it can be, it really is more fun to feel fully alive making it up as we go, and as far as I can understand, this is the reason we are here… to remember we are one and whole and worthwhile… and always have been. And, we really do have one another, and we are blessed. We put the ‘fun’ back in dysfunctional and have encircled ourselves with those who are willing to non-judgmentally hold our kite string, wipe our tears when we falter, and applaud us when we rise one more time than we fall.
So for all the mothers determined to take quantum leaps for all their children amidst a life that is messy sometimes… those who dare to give their all, those who begin to get a hint that they must save some compassion for themselves and love themselves, too, if they are to be able to authentically give to others, those who are willing to dare to blunder and be bold, question doctors and teachers and the status-quo, speak up and share their wisdom, reach within and find stillness to trust the next step, to make mistakes and take a face-plant now and then and eventually remain committed to standing back up even stronger, ache with uncertainty, inch toward accepting their own innate courage and magnificence, and somehow still believing at their core that love is the answer to every question… together we celebrate all awakening and devoted mothers who declare enough hope to take the next step.
Together we vulnerably expand our power by loving what is, finding joy in unlikely places, remaining connected and vulnerable, yet strong and willing, all while imagining great things to come.
Happy Mother’s Day, Year, Week, Moment-to-Moment!!!
I treasure you!
XXOO,
Mom/Sis/Grandma Tutu/BoBo/Aunt Rhonda[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]
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