Today is the day we honor the mothers in our lives–those women who gave birth to us as well as women who have held us up during our lives. We also honor and remember the mothers of mothers–all those women who came before us, who are part of our lineage. We may do this in a multitude of ways–phone calls, flowers, cards, special meals together for those whose mothers are living. For those whose mothers have passed on, we may honor them by visiting their resting place or lighting candles or finding other ways to remember and commemorate their lives. By all means, please do honor the women who have been significant in your life–today and on other days as well!
Today is also a perfect opportunity to honor the mother of us all–Mother Earth. Hildegard of Bingen, a Christian mystic who lived in the twelfth century, whose philosophy bridges science, art and religion, was a great lover of nature. She believed that nature was the truest mirror of divine creation. She said, “The earth is at the same time mother, she is mother of all that is natural, mother of all that is human. She is the mother of all, for contained in her are the seeds of all. The earth of humankind contains all moistness, all verdancy, all germinating power. It is in so many ways fruitful. All creation comes from it.”
Mother Earth is the Great Mother of all life on this planet and the sustainer of our very life force. It’s good to frequently honor her as well. Again, there are so many ways we can do this. Spending time in nature where we can connect with the many aspects of Mother Earth–in places where there are plenty of trees, grasses, plants, and maybe even water to connect with. We can take this opportunity to contemplate how we can create in our lives practices to implement which are more environmentally friendly. We can choose to plant flowers, plants or trees to bring more life into the world.
Today, May 9th, there are other opportunities for offering healing to Mother Earth through worldwide events. For Mother Earth, www.theintentionexperment.com has posted the opportunity to send a big intention to stop the flow of oil into the Gulf of Mexico, which is occurring unabated after the April 20th explosion, and for all efforts to work and contain the spill, with minimum impact on the ecosystem of the seas. At 5:00 PM GMT, you can participate by sending the following intention into the world: “My intention is for the Deepwater Horizon’s oil leak to be immediately and successfully contained with no damage to the environment.”
Another world event is Standing Women. On Naomi Wolf’s Standing Women Facebook page, she shares, “In 2007, Standing Women launched its campaign inspired by Sharon Mehdi’s story to her granddaughter about the Great Silent Grandmother Gathering. They asked that women stand together in silence for a better world at 1 pm on the second Sunday in May, which is Mothers’ Day in the United States. Almost 4000 “standing locations” were listed from 81 nations, including 876 organizations.
Every year since then, Standing Women has issued its invitation to stand together. The world seems more and more at crisis, and many of us have included the moment of standing in our Mothers’ Day celebrations, holding strong our intention that the crisis will bring us all together to create new systems that serve everyone.
Once again Standing Women, now partnered with Gather the Women Global Matrix and LightPages, is inviting us to stand together for a better world for the mothers, children, and families of the world. The invitation is to participate in a global moment affirming the unity of the world’s women on May 9 at 1 pm.
Please take a moment and go to http://www.standingwomen.org. Register the place where you will stand for a better world. Others in your area will be able to find you.”
So as we share today with our mothers near and far, living and deceased, may we also find ways to unite with the world in bringing healing and standing up for a better world for all, now and in the future.
Happy Mother’s Day!
