Today we are making memories for tomorrow… some will be longlasting, others will fade away. What will you make of this day?
Whenever we have a change of scenery or routine, it gives us an opportunity to create lasting memories, or at the very least, initiates a new perspective. Sometimes this happens when difficulties arise and at other times, it’s when our hearts become full from being touched by something new.
Today I am in rural Indiana, visiting a friend whose dog just had a litter of seven sweet pups. Mom is attentive, loving and devoted. She cares for them, courtesy of her natural instincts. What a beautiful gift to watch as they begin to experience the world beyond their first few weeks of life.
Each of us reading this paper has essentially done the same thing. We were brought into this world, we were nurtured, cared for, guided and set forth to make our own way, hopefully with the hand of fate being kind.
At my son’s Bar Mitzvah, I read from Kahlil Gibran’s book, The Prophet.
This is the passage “On Children”:
Your children are not your children.
They are the sons and daughters of Life’s longing for itself.
They come through you but not from you, And though they are with you yet they belong not to you.
You may give them your love but not your thoughts, For they have their own thoughts.
You may house their bodies but not their souls, For their souls dwell in the house of tomorrow, which you cannot visit, not even in your dreams.
You may strive to be like them, but seek not to make them like you.
For life goes not backward nor tarries with yesterday.
You are the bows from which your children as living arrows are sent forth.
The archer sees the mark upon the path of the infinite, and He bends you with His might that His arrows may go swift and far.
Let your bending in the archer’s hand be for gladness; For even as He loves the arrow that flies, so He loves also the bow that is stable.
This poem resonates with me deeply as a mother, and when I think of my own mother, I know she did her job well. God Bless our mothers, and each and every mother, for stepping up to the task of being “good archers” to bend and send our children swift and far… to become who they are.
Seeing with these eyes, through the infinite, knowing we were raised and we raise our children and grandchildren who contain the seeds of everything already within, is a comfort to my soul.
The dog, Twister, the beautiful mom who I am watching care for her pups, who gives selflessly and fully, who will send them forth to be raised in families in just a few weeks, isn’t the only one operating on instinct and by a beautiful program of procreation. I trust we are too.
As moms, our job is to provide the right environment, the nutrient-rich soil, sun, water, oxygen and love, so that our children and children’s children can sprout and unfold and grow into their fullest potential. We cannot determine that potential, nor should we try to steer it; we should simply help them uncover who they are and who they want to be.
It’s this selflessness, this appreciation for our parents, for our mothers, for ourselves… that’s what makes our children grow like seeds sprouting forth in the world – seeds that without a doubt need to grow, to feel loved and to live and thrive in the light of the day.
Make new memories today and make May, the month of Mother’s Day and of National Pet Day, a blessing all month long!
Happy everyday from Liz and Twister, here in Indiana, and on behalf of all moms and the entire staff of The Happy Herald.
