There is this great sign, it’s painted blue on wood, and rather long…

I bought it at the local Saturday Morning Markets… it states in bold print…

“hire a teenager while they still know everything”

I laughed out loud when I saw it the first time…
Thinking on it for a while… I can’t believe how ignorant and arrogant I was as a teenager.

How did my mother ever put up with me?

So did you think about it?
What was the best thing you learned from your mother?

Of course we all learn a great deal from both our parents, but mothers have a special place.

Why?

Because they’re the ones who provide our first nourishment, warmth and nurturing… for quite a long time they appear, to be our only source of sustenance… so it’s understandable that to a child, their Mother hold’s an almost ‘God like” position… Indeed… she always has the last word!

I have to thank my mother for teaching me how to be tenacious and never give up.
That’s the biggest lesson I learned from her about life. She didn’t cuddle us much, she was a woman of her times and fairly closed off… but she taught me by example to “keep on, keeping on”.

She didn’t leave my father despite their challenges and her loneliness, she didn’t abandon my brother when he became a junky… instead she let him live at home and put a dead bolt on her bedroom door and stored her valuables in there so he would not be tempted to pawn them for drugs.

She never threw away a piece of paper that had not been used on both sides and she grew a lot of her own food… she was a genuine new ager long before her time… she will always be my hero, I find myself more in awe of her everyday, as my body changes and I experience the fact that I am not thirty anymore… I have a mortal body that is healthy and strong but is not designed to last forever… I appreciate her more and more everyday.

She showed me by example to be honest, diligent and responsible. She was strong minded, yet willing to learn new things and explore new places. She never let anything stop her from doing what she wanted to do… right up until the day she left she made her own rules…

She was a character, a mystery to those she met and an inspiration to those she loved. My regret, is that I didn’t take the time, to get to know her better.

I am grateful with every breath, because I had the gift of her love, in the form most appropriate for me and my lessons on earth…

… get to know her past… her dreams… her plans for the future… she may surprise you!!

Remembering all we have ever been and are about to become… your sister through chaos and comfort
Hokulani
Big Island. Hawaii
May 2009

Preparing for Mother’s Day.

You may think I am heartless, but I am glad my mother has passed on because her body had become old and was no longer able to hold or support her spirit anymore…

I have the gift of knowing she came right back as my oldest son’s first son.
It’s a long story for another time…

Suffice to say, in her new form she is deeply engaged becoming her new self and what unique connection we had at his birth was quickly lost after three months when she agreed to be completely immersed in her new identity.

So even though I know where she is, she is no longer my mother; she has evolved on and is once again a child and I am not even the mother but rather the grandmother…

That’s what we all do.
We grow and change, die and are reborn…
It’s up to us to remember to take the time and enjoy the journey.
There really is no rush. This is a discipline and a revelation to me; every day, even now!
Be here now and enjoy your mother.  She is the one you chose, who chose you.

You are or have been in a symbiotic relationship with her for a long time, perhaps for many more life times than you care to admit or remember…

Enjoy your time together, give up everything that separates you… all the blame, judgment and grief… give it all up because there will come a time in the future when you will wonder what on earth possessed you to spend so much of your life worrying about such trivia.

In the larger scheme of things it’s your human relationships that give you the opportunity to grow and our mothers are our first and primary relationship and then, guide…

So this Mothers’ Day,  consider this..

What was the best, most profound thing you have learned from your mother?

My mother taught me to be tenacious…  I consider that quality one of my most useful and valuable skills of my whole life.

She was a child of the Depression, so she was very conservative with her resources. ‘Use what you’ve got’… ‘Never complain because you don’t have what you think you need… remember, ‘Necessity is the mother of invention’… or her favorite, “Can’t is the won’t of people who don’t”

These are all typical of my mothers personal philosophy.  She was a pioneer, a hero, and I consider myself blessed to have had her in my life for as long as I did.  She was not perfect, but she was perfect for my needs. She was the best mother I could ever have and I am very grateful to her for all her sacrifice and surrender on behalf of myself and my two siblings.

Think of your own mother.
Give her permission to be who she is; don’t judge… relax.
You will have permission to be who you want to be…  the minute you allow others the same right… especially your mother.

She represents the Divine Feminine in your life, no matter what your personal challenges may be.

Honor her, respect her, love her, she is the only one you will ever have in this lifetime …
Protect her and take care of her, because when she is gone she can never be replaced…
She is the source of your journey on earth this time and she will always love you, no matter what you do…

That’s who she is and what she is put here to do!

She is your Mum…

Remembering all we have ever been and are about to become…
your sister through chaos and comfort

Shankari The Alchemist

Hokulani
Big Island. Hawaii
May 2009