An Alternative Way to View Mother’s Day

The mother of American Mother’s Day was one Anna Jarvis, who wanted to honor her own mother. In 1908, Anna Jarvis convinced a local department store owner, John Wanamaker, to help her promote the idea. The first Mother’s Day was celebrated both in a Methodist church in West Virginia and in Wanamaker stores throughout Philadelphia. Anna continued to campaign for making Mother’s Day a national holiday, succeeding when President Woodrow Wilson formally established the holiday in 1914. (Source)

Anna herself never got married or had children and yet her efforts were parallel to that of a mother - conception, birth, and rearing. Around the world, various Mother’s Day holidays honor the aspects of physically being a mother and sometimes also, symbolically being a mother. Thailand’s Mother’s Day commemorates their Queen Sirikit. Indonesia uses the holiday to celebrate the anniversary of their first Women’s Congress. Portugal and Spain celebrate their Mother’s Day in honor of the Virgin Mary. (Source)

As all beings hold the potential for both yin and yang and the continuously cyclical nature of the two, all humans, regardless of our chosen gender, have the ability to perform as “mother,” to conceive as well as to nurture. We do not have to limit ourselves by narrow, patriarchal definitions of motherhood.

This Mother’s Day, let us celebrate all the ways we can mother. Some ideas are:

• Plant something - water it, feed it, watch it grow.
• Be creative - draw, write, and build, something from scratch.
• Give care - to a being that is vulnerable and requires help be it a person or animal.

Then let us celebrate all the ways we are mothered. For example:

• Remembering a mother figure in our life - someone who “fed” us in some way, shape, or form.
• Recognizing how we mother ourselves through real self-care that helps us heal and grow.
• Honoring the greater mothering forces of fate and nature by being grateful for what we have been given - food, shelter, and other such resources.

To the new mom, the old mom, the mom who passed, the working mom, the 2nd mom, the dad mom, and the teacher mom. To all the people who created, who nourished, who nurtured, who comforted, who hugged, who cuddled, who kissed. To our first teachers, our first spirit guides, our first shelter. To our first love.

Happy Mother’s Day,
Jagadamba Macaraeg
Capabilities ManagerEnergy Matters Team

PS We’ve put together a small list of favorite, small-batch items in our Spring Boutique that make lovely gifts for the mother in your life.