Mother’s Day

Today is the one day we assign to recognize some women. Women have a special role in the miracle of reproduction. To carry, labor, and then deliver. Women bear the child, and often, much of the selflessness that goes into raising a new being. It is a breathtaking process; one it seems appropriate that we have a holiday to remember and celebrate. Thank the Infinite that there is a female take on reality.

And of course, there is now a whole set of women, who have found there are other good reasons to be female. Life is so big and prolific. These women give birth to another fresh set of possibilities. They deserve recognition too! Mother’s Day is also Women’s Day in my mind. It is a time for recognizing the myriads of ways that women have extended themselves on behalf of Life. All of it has been a blessing.

It is a source of painful wonderment to see religion and traditional cultures, who do not value the feminine as thoroughly as they could. This is an aspect of mystery that we, as a species, are still learning to embrace. A part of the thankfulness of Mother’s Day is for all of the women who have found the courage, even today, to speak out, and draw attention to the way the feminine is still mistreated. The Goddess is afoot! And, we are so much better off for it.

A single day really isn’t enough to capture the day-to-day boon that we are   embraced by. Women bring a fresh perspective that commonly hugs and integrates more of our wholeness; they remind us of who we are, and in that way, they go further, reminding us of our place in the larger drama.  There’s little dancing without them.

Yes, there is a feminine darkness, a fertile abyss. Life would not be Life without it. The feminine can throw one down, turning one into the bird that flies only into the darkening deep. Life gets stirred by mysterious forces, some of them go beyond gender, but are informed by female sensibilities. The womb is Nature’s way of paying homage to this fact.

As a man, I am constantly surprised, and sometimes delighted, by what my women friends perceive. They seem to be privy to a caring intimacy I am constantly having to learn. I relish the awakening they sometimes bring. It is heartening, sometimes embarrassing, but usually very connective. I get to feel the rain of love and sunshine in those moments.

Men are as deserving of this kind of recognition. Too often though, it comes in the form of privilege. Ironically, it often takes a truly disabled person, such as I, to point out how much privilege disables, and hobbles men too. Women only have what Nature has privileged them with. Culture belittles us all. It is strangely equal opportunity in that way.

The doctor who saved my life, through performing brain surgery on me, was a man, but since then, I’ve been cared for by women. I have first-hand experience with the caring nature of women. I know the quality of my life is dependent on their caring. The words that appear here are totally dependent, and owed to the caring ministrations of women. The blessing came around to me.

Finally, mystery has its way with us. Somehow, it makes us who we are. For some reason it deemed at least two genders. There appear to be more. Each one is a blessing. Each embodies part of our good fortune. All together, the whole manifests —The real Mother — the progenitor of the Great Mystery, shows up!