“Mother is a verb as well as a noun, so I hope everyone can honor whatever mothers them and whatever capacity to mother they have, or the equivalent in whatever gender language works for them.” -Rebecca Solnit
Braveheart, what we experience and honor from our days—and our relationships—depends more upon what we choose (feel and decide) than what is offered.
This designated day for mothers is overflowing with sentiment, memories and realities. This day on which I hosted family gatherings for most of 25 years, investing much time and energy to plan and prepare for (and for carrying the emotional baggage).
“The other half of the question of what there is to celebrate is what mothered and mothers you, how you mother yourself, how you celebrate and recognize what cares for you and takes care of you, and what do you care for in return.” -Rebecca Solnit
For most of the twenty years I have had this blog, I have shared an annual post addressing this second-Sunday-of-May holiday in the U.S. I reread each of them this morning … 💖
- This day hosts so many different kinds of memories for me: amazing family times, garden center visits, awkward gatherings of a blended family, along with painful moments in my history (like being at a Mother’s Day + baby dedication service while recovering from my fourth miscarriage).
“Everything was my mother but my mother. Books were my mother, coastlines, running water and landscapes, trees and the flight of birds, zazen and zendos, quiet and cellos, reading and writing, bookstores and familiar views and routines, the changing evening sky, cooking and baking, walking and discovering, rhythms and blues, friends and interior spaces and all forms of kindness, of which there has been more and more as time goes by.” -Rebecca Solnit
The reciprocating mothering-relationships in my life are numerous, and collectively the love and support and outrageous joy of these relationships have saved me.
Within these relationships we are able to heal, be affirmed in our worth and discover strength.
These relationships gave me what I needed to overcome a variety of “miscarriages” and loss. The times I “tried harder” and did what I had to do for love—the times that never worked out in a way that felt fair or just.
Braveheart, let’s join together to honor the Sacred Feminine and Nurturer within us all. And promise ourselves to allow space and grace for self-acceptance, compassion and love, and forgiveness.
Let us celebrate love and relationships that come from unexpected places—and all the wonder it inspires within us:
From 2012: My heart sings, loudly and sometimes off-key, when I reflect upon the women who have mothered me in deep, life-changing ways. My whole body grins when memories and promised tomorrows flash through my mind that include the young women who adopted me with their love and presence. Who unexpectedly {and unconditionally} wrap their arms around me and love me as a friend, fellow-sojourner and nurturer.
“Be the one who nurtures and builds. Be the one who has an understanding and a forgiving heart one who looks for the best in people. Leave people better than you found them.” -Marvin J. Ashton
Braveheart, let’s be the ones who understand and forgive. Together we are stronger. And let’s live our questions—embracing each one and living everything:
“Be patient towards all that is unsolved in your heart and try to love the questions themselves as if they were locked rooms or books written in a very foreign language. Don’t search for the answers, which could not be given to you now because you would not be able to live them. And the point is to live everything. Live the questions now. Perhaps then, someday far in the future, you will gradually, without even noticing it, live your way into the answer.” -Rilke
“I realized that my mother had done all these things for me before I remembered. I was fed; I was washed; I was clothed; I was taught to speak and given a thousand other things, over and over again, hourly, daily, for years. She gave me everything before she gave me nothing.” -Rebecca Solnit
“May you locate the ten thousand mothers that brought you into being and keep you going, no matter who and where you are. May you be the mother of uncounted possibilities and loves.” -Rebecca Solnit
What does this have to do with right brain planning?
Every day is a gift. 🎁 Simple chronicles of the details (thoughts, events and emotions) of our days is a way to cope + know ourselves + map our desires.
Tracking (and reviewing) our thoughts and routine activities [along with whatever has our attention] reveals our beliefs and values—and helps us to discover meaning and the details of our rhythms.
Showing up for ourselves on the page—along with setting aside time and space on a regular basis for both tangible and intangible processing is how we come to identify our desires + get clarity.
- Everything is an opportunity. Everything we have experienced, lived and loved, questioned and lost is a part of our wholeness.
And, Braveheart, there is enough time and space and energy for our dreams and desires, wishes and want-to’s, and our ❤️🩹 healing (even when we doubt all of that).
Our dreams take time. Without some type of visual chronicle to serve as a “map”—as well as a reminder and directive—the timelines of our desires and experiences become jumbled. What matters most becomes ignored and forgotten.
Thank you kindly for your presence here, Braveheart. 💗
I appreciate your interest and support.
~love & good wishes~
⭐️ I am an artist and curator; I am one who communicates with color, found words and collage, inky marks and doodles as I cycle like the moon (as my calendar), chronicling oracles and abiding with the sky as a meditation.
⭐️ I host creative communities, safe spaces for gathering and sharing. I choose love and creativity for coping with the ongoing challenges of this world and I go to work—not because everything is fine but because I believe art heals.
❤️ Braveheart, as the Creator/Artist of Right Brain Planner I am ever-grateful to have the opportunity to share my creative work online + support other creators! 🎉 For almost 20 years I have had the privilege of sharing my art and writing about right brain planning while also hosting kindred 👭🏽💞👭 communities. ✨ I consider it an absolute 🤸 delight to continue this portion of my creative 📝🖌️✂️🫧 work (even as I retire from full-time work).
- This is possible, in part, by {you} and your presence here. But also because of the support of my Ko-fi patrons and the other member/subscriber communities I host (via their presence, input and paid subscriptions). 🫶
- 💁🏻♀️ Other ways to support my work: ❤️ continue to read this blog + follow me on Instagram. 📲
If you already have your own system of creative journal-planning, but are interested in financially supporting my creative work, you may do so by making a donation:
- Make a one-time contribution in any amount via [this link]. (Thank you!) ❤️