I hope for all the mommies out there a day of relaxation and peace. Being a mom is a rewarding but challenging experience that can't really be understood until it is experienced first hand. So today, while we bask in the glory of being the "greatest mom" (or so the card says) lets also spend today contemplating the kindness of our own mother's
To me, my teacher says it best...so here are a few words from him
Geshe Kelsang Gyatso-
"It is very easy to forget our mother's kindness, or to take it for granted and remember only the times when we think she harmed us; so we need to remember in detail how kind our mother has been to us from the very beginning of this life.
When we were in our mother's womb she protected us carefully, more carefully than she would guard a most precious jewel. In every situation she thought of our saftey. She consulted doctors, exercised, ate special foods, and nurtured us day and night for nine months; and she was also mindful not to do anything that might damage the development of our physical and mental faculties. Because she looked after us so well, we were born with a normal and healthy body that we can use to accomplish so many good things.
At the time of our birth our mother experienced great pain, but when she saw us she felt happier than if someone had presented her with a superb treasure. Even during the agony of childbirth our welfare was foremost in her mind. When we were newly born, although we looked more like a frog than a human being, our mother loved us dearly. We were completely helpless, even more helpless than a newbown foal, who can at least stand up and feed as soon as it is born. We were as if blind, unable to identify our parents, and we could not understand anything. If someone had been preparing to kill us, we would not have known. We had no idea what we were doing. We could not even tell when we were urinating.
Who cared for and protected this scarecely human thing? It was our mother. She clothed it, cradled it and fed it with her own milk. She removed the filth from its body without feeling any disgust. Sometimes mothers remove the mucus from their baby's nose by using their own mouths becuase they do not want to cause the baby any pain by using their rough hands. Even when our mother had problems, she always showed us a loving expression and called us sweet names. While we were small our mother was constantly watchful. If she had forgotten us for even a short time, we might have met our death or been disabled for life. Each day of our early childhood our mother rescued us from many disasters, and she always considered things from the point of view of our own safety and well-being.
In the winter she would make sure that we were warm and had good clothing, even when she herself was cold. She always selected the best things for us to eat, taking the worst for herself; and she would rather have been sick herself than see us sick. She would rather have died herself than see us die. Our mother naturally behaves towards us like someone who has gained the realization of exchanging self with others, cherishing us even more than she cherishes herself. She is able to put our welfare before her own, and she does so perfectly and spontaneously. If someone were to threaten to kill us she would offer herself to the killer instead. She has such compassion for us.
When we were small our mother would not sleep well. She slept lightly, walking every few hours and remaining alert for our cry. As we grew older our mother taught us how to eat, drink, speak, sit, and walk. She sent us to school and encouraged us to do good things in life. If we have any knowledge and skills now, it is mainly as a result of her kindness. When we grew older and became adolescent, we preferred to be with out friends and we would completely forget our mother. While we enjoyed ourself it was as if our mother had ceased to exist, and we would remember her only when we needed something from her. Although we were forgetful and allowed ourself to become completely absorbed in the pleasures we enjoyed with our friends, our mother remained continuously concerned for us. She would often become anxious, and in the back of her mind there was always some worry about us. She had the kind of worry we normally have only for ourself. Even when we are grown up and have a family of our own, our mother does not cease to care for us. "
Getting along with your mother seasier for some than others, but today is a wonderful day to put the past aside and cherish the person in this world who made your being a mother possible, for without her, we wouldn't even exist.
HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY WEST NEW YORK MOMMIES
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