An Ode to Mothers

I love this quote by Osho, “The moment a child is born, the mother is also born.”

But what I now know to be closer to the truth is that mothers are made, not born.

For me, motherhood was an intellectual concept until, gradually, it became an experience and finally, an obsession.

Yes, the moments of my children’s births were transformative, but each made a new mother of me over time, not instantly.

The protective instinct may be an immediate and overwhelming gift but mothers are so much more than protective.

Mothers are the ground upon which our children stand. It is where children learn to feel steady and ultimately grow to become the ground beneath themselves.

Mothers hold space for multitudes so their children can focus on singular desires.

Mothers’ compassion expands beyond any imaginable dimension — if only because their children make sure of it!

Mothers never give up on their children, even when they pretend to, and even when the world tells them to. Yes, mothers are stubborn as hell.

Mothers are made.

Mothers are made from their children’s gaze, smile and touch.

Mothers are made from their children’s triumphs and failures.

Mothers are made (and sometimes broken) in a world that challenges their instincts and tells them they are doing mothering wrong.

Mothers are made into fighters because children need heroes, as surely as they need food, water and shelter.

Mothers are made — over and over again.

I wish Osho’s words encompassed my full truth. I wish I had immediately been born as a mother on December 23rd 1999, when my first precious child was born. But the truth is that looking into my child’s soulful eyes when she was first put in my arms, marked only the first words of a book that continues to be written.

May your book of motherhood be written with ever more joy and blessings.