~~~~ MOTHERS HERE AND BEYOND ~~~~

The Theotokos      

  Byzantine Icon of Mother of God

This year is the first "Mother's Day" without my mother as she has  passed  on into the afterlife this year. Believe it or not, it may be one of the best Mother's days I have ever experienced this year.  I will explain why.

While a day has been set aside to honor and appreciate our mothers I cannot help but  feel the commercial angle with the greeting card companies, the candy stores and flower shops. I can remember last year at my Mother's last Mother's Day. The family considered flowers, etc. ~~ Then we agreed that mom would have no clue it was Mother's day and that giving flowers was part of a social tradition. Our gift to her was love, hugs and kisses. We all believed our mother was inside that worn body and that soon she would leave that shell of her soul and that her soul would change energies and be with the creator. We knew she would appreciate touch and sight which is priceless, not material things.

Growing up from a young teenager I viewed my mother as a shelter of peace and tranquility while my father was gone for work. She was my protector. I have admitted this before,  ~~ I viewed my father as a very negative energy in my young life.   I avoided my father until I left for Greece at 17 years old. When I returned, he was a changed man as you know from prior posts.

My mother was not necessarily an affectionate person. She was raised by her stepmother, her father's second wife. From what I understood she was a cold person. My paternal Grandmother was born in Poland and as far as I know, was a warm person. I never met my paternal Grandmother.

After my father passed to the afterlife my mother entered a dark abyss and seemed to be detached with the world and found most of her tranquility with her dogs.

When she entered a home care facility until her final days on this planet, ~~ she became a very loving being and deep inside me, I felt that caring and nurturing as I did going up as a young teenager.

  

My mother and I in the final days of her life on Earth

The origin of Mother's Day dates back over 250 years before Christ was born, in the era of the Greeks and Romans. Early Christians celebrated a Mother's day of sorts during  the fourth day of Lent in honor of the Virgin Mary. The Mother of Christ. Note above Orthodox icon.

 Here is  a poem I wrote called: 

The Beauty of a woman:

It is though a woman, a man can be complete.

It is through a woman, the Creator sends his sacred life

Tears for a woman can clear the path for love

Love for a woman can make a man a better person 

The warmth of a woman knows no boundaries

The body of a woman is sacred as are her heart and soul

The love from a woman is celestial bliss

In that love, man experiences Peace, Tranquility and Totality

Women are a gift to be appreciated for all times and eternity

For --- without women we would not be

Emotions from Stephen July 2009

~~ Stephen Hill ~~

You could use the word mother in place of  woman in this poem and the application is the same.

In the wild animal kingdom, with some exceptions the female of the pack, den, etc. is  in charge. She provides protection, food and nurturing.


Women, whether men like it or not,  are the corner stone of all family foundations. In Judaism it is the mother who gives the blood line, whether the child is Jewish or not




It has been said ~~ "The woman in the house has not lost her dignity, in spite of Mother's Day, with it's offensive implication that our love needs an annual nudging". 

  ~~ John Erskine ~~

Now comes the beauty of this year's Mother's Day celebration. I will dedicate time alone, perhaps at the ocean, or walk paths on the Palos Verdes Peninsula and honor my mother with love in deep meditation. Our spirits will unite. From this point on I will always honor my mother as I will my Father. Not with flowers, chocolates and cards. With pure spirit!

The following is a good video with excellent text and images we can all identify with for Mother's Day.

Love your mother, whether she is next to you or looking down on you from the universe with that one sweet smile you recall from birth.

Love and Peace to all