Mother's Day as a celebration of the unique power mothers have to be peacemakers.
By V.K. Harber
As Mother's Day approaches in the US and retailers ready their supply of flowers, candy, jewelry, and
[IMG alt="
"]http://www.mothering.com/community/content/type/61/id/296250/width/350/height/700[/IMG]
spa packages, I find myself torn, as I always am, between supporting the spoiling of mothers and highlighting the fact that, like so many holidays, Mother's Day has drifted pretty far form it's original intent.
Undoubtedly, mothers everywhere deserve some pampering. A little extra sleep, some alone time, a special meal, and some adorable kid crafts are the things that fuel mothers for another day back in the saddle of child-rearing. This is likely not what Julia Ward Howe had in mind, though, when she issued her Mother's Day Proclamation of 1870:
Quote:
Peace begins in the home. As mothers we have the ability to not only provide a peaceful environment for our children to grow, but to model peaceful behaviors and thoughts and to impart lessons about what it means to be truly peaceful and not just conflict-avoidant.
Beyond that, if all mothers everywhere could join together to stand up to the "irrelevant agencies" who can so easily take our children to "unlearn all that we have been able to teach them of charity, mercy, and patience" just think of how the world could change.
Being peaceful doesn't mean being passive. As mothers who invest so much into our children and their happiness, we are completely justified in passionately and unapologetically pursuing peace to protect our precious sons and daughters and the precious sons and daughters of our fellow mothers.
Can powerful peaceful mamas change the world? I think we can. Especially after that delicious breakfast in bed and a little pampering.
About V.K. Harber
V.K. Harber is a yogi, writer and mother of one. She is the co-founder and former managing director of Samdhana-Karana Yoga: A Healing Arts Center in Tacoma, WA, a non-profit yoga studio.She currently resides in Seoul, South Korea where she works as a yoga teacher and post-partum doula. (www.vkharber.com) She is also a contributing writer at World Moms Blog and can be found on twitter @VKHarberRYT.
By V.K. Harber
As Mother's Day approaches in the US and retailers ready their supply of flowers, candy, jewelry, and
[IMG alt="
"]http://www.mothering.com/community/content/type/61/id/296250/width/350/height/700[/IMG]
spa packages, I find myself torn, as I always am, between supporting the spoiling of mothers and highlighting the fact that, like so many holidays, Mother's Day has drifted pretty far form it's original intent.
Undoubtedly, mothers everywhere deserve some pampering. A little extra sleep, some alone time, a special meal, and some adorable kid crafts are the things that fuel mothers for another day back in the saddle of child-rearing. This is likely not what Julia Ward Howe had in mind, though, when she issued her Mother's Day Proclamation of 1870:
Quote:
I cannot help but be moved by her words and the urgency of her pleading, nor by how relevant her words remain.
Peace begins in the home. As mothers we have the ability to not only provide a peaceful environment for our children to grow, but to model peaceful behaviors and thoughts and to impart lessons about what it means to be truly peaceful and not just conflict-avoidant.
Beyond that, if all mothers everywhere could join together to stand up to the "irrelevant agencies" who can so easily take our children to "unlearn all that we have been able to teach them of charity, mercy, and patience" just think of how the world could change.
Being peaceful doesn't mean being passive. As mothers who invest so much into our children and their happiness, we are completely justified in passionately and unapologetically pursuing peace to protect our precious sons and daughters and the precious sons and daughters of our fellow mothers.
Can powerful peaceful mamas change the world? I think we can. Especially after that delicious breakfast in bed and a little pampering.
About V.K. Harber
V.K. Harber is a yogi, writer and mother of one. She is the co-founder and former managing director of Samdhana-Karana Yoga: A Healing Arts Center in Tacoma, WA, a non-profit yoga studio.She currently resides in Seoul, South Korea where she works as a yoga teacher and post-partum doula. (www.vkharber.com) She is also a contributing writer at World Moms Blog and can be found on twitter @VKHarberRYT.