letters to mother earth

the expressions of mother’s day beyond the familial 🌿

this morning, i went to a yoga class, taught at my favorite studio by one of my favorite teachers. at the beginning of class, she said the three words i was dreading: happy mother’s day.

and then, she followed it by saying that mother’s day is challenging, for many people, for most people. she shared that she’s been estranged from her parents for 17 years.

i felt relief wash over my body.

she said maybe we are happy about mother’s day, or maybe we would focus on self care, or maybe we would honor that our mother’s gave us life, but no matter what, all of our feelings would be welcome.

i decided to set my intention to be gratitude.

and these are some things that fill me with gratitude on mother’s day. the things that i think are just as inherently a part of mother’s day as a relationship with a mother.

• the miracle of birth (mine, yours, others, animals)

• the miracle of my body and the creation of my spirit

• the earth’s creation all around me

• all the women in the world advancing the betterment and freedoms into our broken world

• the fact that the world is both broken and beautiful

• the fact that i am both broken and beautiful

• the creative act of art and being

• connections with other women

• the Great Goddess

• the fact that we all think of nature is the ultimate Mother

• the simple but monumental force that is love

• the indivisible web of interconnectedness of all beings

• the fascia in my body that is so similar to the unseen fungi connecting the roots of trees

• the ways trees communicate and even love

• the sun that rises and sets every single day

• the cycles of the moon and her beauty in every phase

• the way that pain and joy are only separated by a heartbeat (if that)

• synchronicities

• the turn of the wheel of the year

• all of the people i have ever loved and the way there will always be a piece of them in the tapestry of my soul

• the different ways a laugh can sound

• the different ways a laugh can heal

• all of the people and all of the moments i’ve had the experience of making love with

• the miracle of an orgasm

• a meal made just from ingredients

• the feeling of everyone singing at a concert

• the way a beat can merge the fibers of the soul in the body and the way movement because just another limb for all of us to share on a dance floor

• all of the different ways a best friend can hold you

• the magic of medicine

• the ebb and flow of breath

• the ebb and flow of waves

• the ebb and flow of wind in trees

• all of the different ways to cry

• the fact that strawberries come from the earth and honey comes from bees, proof that sweetness is natural

• pen pals who become family

• the lessons other people teach us

• glitter

• rainbows peaking through mist

• the crack of thunder and the ferocity of clouds breaking

• the way a silent room feels scared

• remembering that every person who has ever hurt me has once been a small child and a baby taking it’s first steps

• the feeling of being on the same room as someone who is dying (a gift)

• those thoughts of clarity that feel divine

• the fragility of a sapling and the strength of an ancient trunk and the fact those those are inexplicably the same

• the fleeting gift of cherry blossoms

• that feeling when a lady bug is on my finger and my feet are in the grass

• the different expressions of wayer

• books that feel like they were written for me

• the feeling of ephemera

• also, the word ephemera

• the miracle of menstruation, and the knowledge that even the most painful cramp releases oxytocin

• the existence of oxytocin

mother’s day can be a sacred day for me. even the pain and heartbreak is just a reminder of my divine and real existence.

i’m grateful for my mother who birthed me. i’m grateful for the smiles she encouraged. i’m grateful for the skin on my body that allows me to be a part of the earth. i’m grateful for my nose that she created so i can breath fresh mountain air and toes that can burrow in sand. i’m grateful for my fingers that grew in her womb that allow me to eat and cook and touch and grab and receive and gift and feel. i’m grateful for my mother and i’m grateful for hers and i’m grateful for my father’s mother and i’m grateful for the earth under my feet and your feet and the sky over our heads. i am grateful for all the mothers who made the people i love.

i honor the impossible task of motherhood. i honor the pain and fear and unfairness that comes with it. i honor the mothers trying their best, which are all of the mothers everywhere. i honor the labor of mothers.

i am glad for the mothers who enjoy this day, and the children, small and big, who enjoy it too.

because of all this, i can say:

happy mother’s day.