Because my mother died when I was just seven years old (became very ill when I was two), I’ve actually explored what mothering is from an experience of the absence of the physical mother. There have been profound gifts I’ve gained from this. And, of course, deep grief and loss as well. One of these gifts was that I opened my heart to receive love, nurturance and safety from many places and people.
I learned to access the energy of mothering.
I have been mothered by the land I grew up on, teachers, mentors, books, flowers, birds, friends, my husband, before he passed (yes mothering is not limited to gender), and in some ways the whole world. When it comes to mother, as a verb, what I’ve learned and teach about, is how to develop a mothering voice within you, the one who envelops all that you are and helps you to redirect the thoughts and stories that limit you. Listen for that voice. It’s a voice of Love.
Over 20 years ago now, a man attending my transformational intensive in upstate NY told me at the end that I ‘channel’ the divine mother. Well, I don’t channel anything. But I attempt to stay open to the Love that flows through us and desires to express through us. Each of us is loved, 24/7. But our human experience challenges us to open to this Love.
Here are some beautiful reframes for both mother/mothering, creativity, God and Love:
Hildegaard of Bingen offered images of the motherhood of God and the circle that is God. She talks about being hugged and encircled by the mystery of God. Hildegaard describes the Creator as carrying creation as a mother carries her infant in the womb.
“Just as a circle embraces all that is within it, so does the God-head embrace all.”
Her teachings on creativity are a celebration of the motherhood of us all. Our capacity to give birth and to become ‘flowering orchards’ is an invocation of this motherly contribution.
Another mystic from the Rhineland, Meister Eckhart when he asked, “What does God do all day long?” To which he replied “God lies on a maternity bed giving birth.”
Julian of Norwich: Just as God is truly our Father, so also is God truly our Mother.
Perhaps this is also part of what it means to mother — to become a loving presence within yourself that can hold, redirect, and soften the stories that limit you. Listen for that voice. It speaks in the language of Love.
“Human beings are not born once and for all on the day their mothers give birth to them, but that life obliges them over and over again to give birth to themselves.” ~ Gabriel Garcia Marquez
Wishing you love this Mother’s Day, wherever you are on the journey.
Nancy 💖
For a free chat with Nancy to explore working together, CLICK HERE.
