Mother’s Day is a holiday that is celebrated in honour of mothers in much of the world, on different dates of the year depending on the country, culture, and nation in which it is celebrated. I do not consider that one day a year is enough to highlight the importance of a mother and the impact that the relationship with her has on our lives.
Do we really know why we should celebrate our mothers?
According to the research of many people specialised in this area, the relationship with our mother is the foundation on which all our other relationships are built. Every child is totally dependent on its mother during its first years of life and sees itself as a reflection of her. In the case of a woman, the mother is the reference of the feminine model, and this can affect the way she accepts or rejects being a woman, living her femininity, and the idea of being a mother. In the case of a man, the mother will be the female model to which he will be attracted, or the one he will reject; that is to say, his choice of partner will be conditioned by his relationship with his mother.
Perhaps because many of us have childhood wounds regarding our interaction with our mothers, we sometimes find it very easy to criticise and judge them for not having fully met our personal expectations. This unconscious act of arrogance and resentment against the person who gave us life is unfair and irrational. We sometimes forget that our mothers were also little girls who did the best they could for us, according to their own experiences.
If we allow ourselves to see all that our mothers have done for us despite their own fears, their own wounds, and their vulnerabilities, we could clearly empathise with their sadness and their own unsolved family problems.
Now, if we are able to see the whole picture, we can really take a moment to feel grateful and to celebrate our mothers today and always, for their important role in our lives and for all the learning.