Happy Mother’s Day! Today is the day that we celebrate the fact that by some miracle of science you brought a little human into the world. Or you were that little human. As a bloke and I can only appreciate the significance of what it means to be a mother, but I have had the privilege of witnessing a birth. Twice. And I can say with some authority that gifting life to a tiny new being is indeed a miracle.
I often think about that day, that new existence. How they are a tiny dot on a vast, blank canvas, ready to be exposed to the world that surrounds them. How simple and innocent and pure they are. Their whole life ahead of them. And how important a role mothers (and fathers) play in shaping and moulding that lump of flesh into a object of brilliance. Of love and hate, beauty and ugliness, and everything in between. In many ways, that’s what Mother’s Day means to me.
I was chatting with someone recently whose wife is about to give birth. What’s it like? He asked. It took me a few moments to come up with a something sensible. It’s not an easy question, and I’m supposed to be a life guide after all. So this is what I said:
You’ve probably received a hundred stories and words of advice already. Some will be valid, most of them not. Because your baby, will be your baby. All I can say is it’s by far the most amazing and life changing thing that can happen. And that the treasured moments of joy and happiness a new life will bring makes up for all the hardship. And I wouldn’t change it for the world.
That’s life, isn’t it? 80% pain for 20% pleasure. Not the Pareto principle but a guide for life. If life was so simple and easy, plain sailing, it wouldn’t be amazing as it is. If not perfect. It’s perfectly imperfect. Just like all you mothers and mothers’ children.
Flowers at the ready…
What does Mother’s Day mean to you? A day to celebrate or commiserate? A day to reflect on the miracle of life?
The Whisper: A Life Guide for Perfectly Imperfect People
Change your life, one day at a time.
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