Without Issue

On a positive note…

…my anger and resentment about Mother’s Day has declined over the years. Now I’m able to recognise it as a day to acknowledge and be grateful for the people who give me nurture and support and to celebrate my own capacity for ‘mothering’.  As an aunt, friend, wife, sister, daughter and daughter-in-law I feel I have a place in the whole Mother’s Day malarkey.  That said, I do recognise it for what it is: a bit of a commercial hype that is well distanced from its original meaning.

Curious about the origins of Mothering Sunday I found this website which gives a good outline of the history of the day.  It describes how originally Mothering Sunday was about returning to your ‘Mother Church’ in your home town/village.  This gave me the thought that perhaps those of us without children, who are estranged from children or who have sadly lost children could use the concept of ‘return’ to help us get through an otherwise emotionally challenging day.

Quite simply, perhaps today you could instigate a return to some thing or things that make you feel alive, creative, beautiful, vital or powerful.  Perhaps there is something you have left behind that you now realise gave you a buzz.  Perhaps you’ve forgotten how to just sit and be, to wriggle your toes and look at the sky (even if it is leaden grey!)  Perhaps today could be the first day of a pursuit you have been meaning to take up for years.

Here is my own ‘return’.  I have decided, after many years of procrastination to learn to play the bagpipes.  I know, I know!  My friends and family will be rolling their eyes (not to mention my neighbours!)  I have found a tutor and, more importantly (!), a place to practice outdoors.  It is a ‘return’ because I remember as a child opening my father’s bagpipe box and being fascinated by the smell of the cork and rosewood.  It is also a ‘return’ because I am an ex-pat Scot and I have a tendency to shed a tear even when a piper is just tuning up.

Whatever you decide to indulge in, whatever will be your ‘return’ I hope you find it inspiring and comforting.  As for my own ‘return’, wish me luck!

I’m sending you all positive and gentle thoughts today.  Make today yours.

Feel free to have a look at my post from last year about Mother’s Day here

An interesting article in Huffington Post about Mother’s Day is here.