Journey of the Heart

A Mama Day Blessing This day we honor and celebrate the women who have given life to us,  the women who give life to ideas,  the women who died giving life, the women who wanted to have a child, but didn’t get to, the women who right now are tilling their fertile soil for new seed, the women who choose not to have a child but have many children, the women who are in captivity, the women who are free, those who were mothered well, and those who had crazy mamas, because any mama that did not love you well, was not well enough, the women who are struggling this moment to care for their babies, and the women who right now snuggle with little ones under feather comforters, for those whose mamas have gone on, and for those who are mamas to be, for women who miscarried precious life, and those who carried many, for single mamas who want their mate, and for married mamas who want to be seen and heard, for those who never got...

It’s Mother’s Day, and I’m not sure what to say, or how to say it… Because, the thing is that whilst this is a day of celebration, scratch the surface even slightly and you hit raw pain for so many people. Biological mothers are not always good mothers. Biological children don’t arrive on demand… People pass on and leave us, missing them… So, “Happy Mother’s Day” is a phrase that perhaps shouldn’t be posted too liberally... I do want to say, though, that in my mind, this phrase can apply to anyone, male or female, who's ever "mothered" or been mothered. You might not have had the best biological mother, or you might have had the best mother but she might not be here any more. You might not have your own biological children, or you might have several... But, for anyone who’s ever been nurtured, or birthed into a new phase of life, or soothed, or comforted, I think there’s a form of “mothering” there - and I think it’s a part of who we are, as human beings. All...

When a child is first born, it can sometimes provide a portal for living in the present… All the new baby’s needs are immediate. Feed me now. Sleep now. Hold me now. Cry now. And for a precious, brief bubble of time, mothers are pulled into that “be here now” way of living.  I was very aware, as my daughter grew, of her language  acquisition, and it seemed to me that as she learned words such as “mine” that I could see the ways in which her experience of world was also expanding.  That was especially apparent with the introduction of the present progressive. It was, like any milestone, such a thrill! And at the same time, such a loss.  Ah, mothering, how it teaches us again and again how to hold and let go at the same time. Vivian Learns Present Progressive Mama chasing me , she says, and she runs with her small feet tilt-syncopated and youth drunk and for the first time she –ings in her speech, and the moment leaps o...

Motherhood: To love, nurture, give and care unconditionally... Way before this chapter of birthing, I was motherly . At a young age, I took in every stray, injured animal and mothered it back. I started to teach at 18. I ‘adopted’ those children in a nurturing way. I had in my heart this is what I must do . I was told, at 25, I would not conceive children of my own. I left the doctor’s office in a huff, crying on the inside. I mourned. My body carried a sadness for all who wanted children but could not have children. My mind switched to redefine the role of a Mother and I saw that Mothers give birth in different ways. Some are teachers, neighbors, friends and mentors. We hold hands and lift each other in this crazy-loving-insanely-passionate journey. And now I see it…  It’s a sisterhood of the divine feminine. Contrary to the doctors and their declaration of me being childless my heart and body said otherwise. In intervals of 15 and 13 years ago I birthe...

I am a mother of two, a daughter and son, both young adults and on their own. My own mother passed three years ago... Mothering and being mothered is a life long process. Taking many forms as we all go through the phases of our lives and circumstances. A deep relationship with self and the other....our children, mother, friends and clients. It’s very sacred work and way of being: this mother-ness! Recently I have felt that in my life there is another kind of birth that requires mothering. Similar to what I felt with my children. A sacred archetype of mother, as I continue to birth my Self (soul) with the grace of the Divine Mother. Death and re-birth... And now I feel very full, heavy with "child"...waiting.  And my poem speaks of this... 'Pregnant Woman' painting by Isabelle Vavasseurj Birthing As the mother, in gestation, preparing for birthing, nurturing, holding, loving. Carefully choosing pure nutrients for the one to be ...

 Motherhood has changed me. It has taught me more than any other single thing - about Creativity, about Time and about Divinity... Creativity is very important to me. It is water and air to me. If I can’t create, I’m like a fish out of water and, even in the constant turnover of mothering days, I need time out, to paint and to write.  ~But, what I’ve also learned, is that  motherhood is quintessentially creative.~  Art by Kat Ward First, it creates a brand new life, then, it births brand new moments, perspectives, lessons. It helps us - parents and children - to see the world in new ways and to connect with the Creator, within and without. Motherhood has helped me to see all sorts of things in a new, Creative light. Then, there’s Time. The passing of time, the juggling of Time and the dawning realisation that Now is all we have. Now. Because every moment is Now. Tomorrow, today will be in the past and only “Now” will remain. One day, I w...