Mother's Day

Today is International Mother’s Day - a special day set aside to celebrate our mothers.

We all have mothers, those women who have cared for us, shared with us their love, taught us, birthed us, told us we were worthy. Some of these women are our birth mothers, some are not. Some are teachers, some came into our lives for a short time to support us, to let us know we belonged. Some are sisters, or aunts, or grandmothers. Some are even strangers who let us know we have reason to hope.

And, Earth is our mother. We are all born from Earth. She nourishes us, clothes us, provides us with shelter. It is through our mother, Earth, that we all share a common ancestry. Because of our mother, Earth, we are family. We are the Earth Family.

The earth obey’d and straight
Opening her fertile womb teem’d at a birth
Innumerous living creatures, perfect forms,
Limb’d and full grown…
John Milton, Paradise Lost, V11, 453

Mother and Child

“I love you,”
said the great mother.
“I love you for what you are
knowing so well what you are.
And I love you more yet, child,
deeper yet than ever, child,
for what you are going to be,
knowing so well you are going far,
knowing your great works are ahead,
ahead and beyond,
yonder and far over yet.”
Carl Sandburg, Wind Song, The People, Yes

Invisible Work

Because no one could ever praise me enough,

because I don't mean these poems only

but the unseen

unbelievable effort it takes to live

the life that goes on between them,

I think all the time about invisible work.

About the young mother on Welfare

I interviewed years ago,

who said, "It's hard.

You bring him to the park,

run rings around yourself keeping him safe,

cut hot dogs into bite-sized pieces for dinner,

and there's no one

to say what a good job you're doing,

how you were patient and loving

for the thousandth time even though you had a headache.

"And I, who am used to feeling sorry for myself

because I am lonely,

when all the while,

as the Chippewa poem says, I am being carried

by great winds across the sky,

thought of the invisible work that stitches up the world day and night,

the slow, unglamorous work of healing,

the way worms in the garden

tunnel ceaselessly so the earth can breathe

and bees ransack this world into being,

while owls and poets stalk shadows,

our loneliest labors under the moon.

There are mothers

for everything, and the sea

is a mother too,

whispering and whispering to us

long after we have stopped listening.

I stopped and let myself lean

a moment, against the blue

shoulder of the air. The work

of my heart

is the work of the world's heart.

There is no other art.
Alison Luterman
(The Largest Possible Life)

Every weekday morning, I go to my computer to receive the latest gift from Joe Riley. This gift starts my day’s meditation, my work day, and my daily intention. Joe Riley is responsible for Panhala, an email offering a lovely photograph, a poem and music. (http://www.panhala.net/).

On Friday, May 8th, Joe added a “Bonus Track” with the following message,

“Sunday, we celebrate Mother's Day.
For some, it is a matter of memory, for others an appreciation of the present.
The poem, Kaddish, by David Ignatow, is for both. Kaddish, of course, is a prayer for the dead, but we are often reminded of things we wish we had said when we had the chance.

It is also a favorite of mine so want to present it again.

And this is for you, Mom. I love you.

If you're interested: http://www.panhala.net/Archive/Kaddish.html

(The music is "Quiet Theme" by Mark Knofpler, from his album A Shot at Glory)”

To subscribe to Panhala, send a blank email to Panhala-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

Next weekend is a holiday weekend, so I will not put out a Whole Earth Care Posting.
The next Posting will be for the weekend of May 23 – 24.

Happy Mother's Day.

Earth Family First,
maureen

(Photos by Google Images and family photos)