Perhaps I knew of the origins of Mother’s Day, but had forgotten. I am so happy to have been reminded of it, by Marianne Williamson, and after looking up the original proclamation by Julia Ward Howe, am overwhelmed by its call for mothers to come together for peace. Here’s to you moms!
“Arise, all women who have hearts, whether your baptism be that of water or of tears! Say firmly: ‘We will not have great questions decided by irrelevant agencies, our husbands shall not come to us, reeking with carnage, for caresses and applause.
‘Our sons shall not be taken from us to unlearn all that we have been able to teach them of charity, mercy and patience. We women of one country will be too tender of those of another country to allow our sons to be trained to injure theirs.’
From the bosom of the devastated earth a voice goes up with our own. It says, ‘Disarm, disarm! The sword is not the balance of justice.’ Blood does not wipe out dishonor nor violence indicate possession.
As men have often forsaken the plow and the anvil at the summons of war, let women now leave all that may be left of home for a great and earnest day of counsel. Let them meet first, as women, to bewail and commemorate the dead. Let them then solemnly take counsel with each other as to the means whereby the great human family can live in peace, each learning after his own time, the sacred impress, not of Caesar, but of God.
In the name of womanhood and of humanity, I earnestly ask that a general congress of women without limit of nationality may be appointed and held at some place deemed most convenient and at the earliest period consistent with its objects, to promote the alliance of the different nationalities, the amicable settlement of international questions, the great and general interests of peace.”
In 1907, Woodrow Wilson proclaimed the day, but its true meaning has been forgotten.
I’ve noticed myself (and others) mindlessly repeating things we have heard, whether it be truth or rumor, good news or a horrid happening, or simple inanities. In the volatile atmosphere of our emotionally-charged country, it is particularly important to scatter joy and express kindness. Kindness goes hand-in-hand with compassionate, but that doesn’t mean we must exacerbate others' pain by adding our own to it. I’ve heard it said that worry is much like praying for something bad to happen. With this in mind, I will try to only see, hear, and repeat good. This does not mean I will ignore injustice in all its many faces, nor does it mean that I'll turn my back on someone in need. It does mean when I hear of yet another travesty against mankind and the environment, I will see it through different eyes, translating it into what can occur to move us into our true selves as images of the divine. Planning to refrain from rehashing horror stories, or engaging in inane conversations, or telling my own stories which top the bad things others have experienced, these are things I can and will do at every opportunity. Every thought matters, and ours may be the one which turns it all around!
