Memorial Day
Child Hoods End
Touring
Persistence
Shining Bear
Mother's Day
Enter the Forest
Winds Erase
Roots of Halloween
Freedom
Fertile Lowlands
Extreme Simplicity
Daylight Savings

MOTHER'S DAY: HONORING THE PRINCIPLE OF MOTHERHOOD
by Christopher Nyerges

One of the victims of our uniquely "American"-style capitalism and greed is the demise of real meaning within our many holy days and holidays. There is plenty of blame to go around for this, beginning with the marketing of holiday "stuff" by the various stores and manufacturers, the media for going-along-with the pablum messages, and the general population for passively accepting this dumbing-down of our sacred traditions.
For example, Thanksgiving is commonly referred to as "turkey day," as if it were all about eating turkey. Halloween is "fright night," Christmas is "Santa's Gift Day," and Easter is the day that chocolate rabbits lay eggs. Father's day is "dad's day," and Mother's Day is "mom's day."
By reducing what should be a time of great reflection and learning to a time of buying foods and "stuff," we become the victims of our own ignorance. We deprive ourselves of these annual reminders that our lives should be something more, something greater than merely going through some pointless physical motions.
Holidays and holy days should be those specially-focused days where we are able to rise above our mundane normality, and strive to see something "greater," some ideals which give life meaning.
Mother's Day is therefore not alone in the way it has been outright perverted. And this is really sad, since everything begins at home. A child learns all his or her values in the home. We have heard it said that charity begins at home, but much more begins at home. He who is undisciplined at home will practice that same undisciplined thinking in the workplace, at school, and in the community, even though such is easier to hide "out there" than it is at home.
He or she who practices hypocrisy and dishonesty at home will practice the same in the workplace, at school, and in the community. This is so, despite the defensive denials of so many public officials -- including President Clinton -- who want the gullible among us to believe that what they do at home is wholly separate from "their job." No! That's a big lie, and should be exposed. The idea that we can think and act one way at home, and another in the community, is absurd! It's not possible. The home is the fundamental "training ground" where one's ideas and ideals and principles can be practiced and tested "safely," and where one can grow and evolve, hopefully amidst a loving and concerned family.

Once parents have children, it is their top responsibility to train and direct those children. The parents who do not do this are simply avoiding their own natural responsibility.
The mother is more often than not the heart of family, carrying on a 24-hour a day job. The ultimate essence of motherhood is self-discipline. First, self-discipline to conduct one's self in a manner that is a fitting example to one's children. After all, children "learn" the most from watching what their parents do. Then there is the self-discipline of motherhood to see that all the physical and emotional and spiritual needs of the children are tended to.
In the traditional family where the father works at a regular job and the mother raises the children, the mother's job is far more important and far harder than men ever give them credit for. The man's job is relatively simply. He get ups, eats breakfast, goes to a job, works, comes home, eat dinners, maybe goes to a meeting in the evening, goes to bed, and repeats it all the next day. On the weekend there are greater choices, such as cutting the lawn, taking the family on an outing, watching TV, etc.
But the mother's scope of responsibility is much vaster than the father's. The mother who exemplifies the Principle of Motherhood is working at a level akin to a CEO of a company, focusing on the education, security, nutrition, and spirituality of the children. The mother, more often than not, is the psychologist and nurse, and provider of entertainment and stimulating mental activities. Of course, all this is taking place while the mother must put many of her personal desires on the back burner.
The point that is lost on so many of us today is that we have confused "the Principle of Motherhood" (which we should be taking the day to study and commemorate) with a female body who has given birth to at least one child. This is a serious error in our thinking. The Principle of Motherhood is a Universal Principle, which means it's there to be studied and learned by anyone, including men (actually, especially men). The principles of motherhood can and should be studied, and practiced by all. It begins with a way of thinking, a way of taking responsibility, a way of embracing, a way of loving. Men are the most deficient in motherhood principles because they have been duped (by their peers, by society, by themselves) into thinking that since they reside in male bodies, they needn't be concerned about that female stuff.
Men attempting to learn the principles of Motherhood create balanced and stronger men. This is equally true for women attempting to learn and apply the principles of Fatherhood.

Men perform spiritual violence upon our beloved mothers when we fall for the grossest Mother's Day marketing campaigns -- such as buying chocolates, sexy underwear, perfume, or jewelry. Such "gifts" are rarely genuine expressions of true love, but are usually nothing more than subtile bribes.
We have attempted for years to explore the real underlying meanings of each holiday and Holy day, and this effort has opened our eyes to how ignorant we have all chosen to become. Becoming part of the solution to this problem may seem difficult and socially-unacceptable. Though picnics and heart-felt hand-written cards have their place, it is also good to take the time on Mother's Day to recognize and honor our mothers, and to find ways that all of us can emulate those highest principles of Motherhood.