“Life doesn’t come with a manual. It comes with a Mother.”
Facebook has a function that shares the posts of previous years on the day that you posted them. I look forward to seeing what I was doing in the last years. It reminds me of relationships, events and happy memories. And this time of year, on this day, I am reminded of my mother’s last days and then her passing. The tears I shed are those of love and not pain.
I am grateful for having leaped into the commitment of being her care-giver for the last year of her life. In many ways it has prepared me for the current experience of the pandemic. I hear her voice in my head. I use her example of living and common sense as my guide.
Today my Facebook post reminds me of good lessons that I learned in the first days after her passing that are just what I needed on this Mother’s Day (without my mother) during a Pandemic.
May 10 2015
One year of living in the shadow of death creates a life time of lessons to be revisited, explored and taken into the heart and applied to the living through the loss. I am so filled with stories and observations, experiences and new understanding – that I hope I can grow into the space that they make for me to become more awake and present.
Every conversation pulls out of me stuff that has been accumulated. Some good… some not so good. The good should be celebrated and praised. The not so good, I recognize comes with the choice of holding on to or letting go. It is in the letting go that there is more space to internalize the powerful lessons.
Forgiveness is a salve.
Gratitude a life giving force.
Regret a drag on one’s self and one’s relationships.
Fear the opposite of unconditional love.
Judgement and criticism – a button on our own self that should be deleted.
Listen. Listen to your own voice.
Trust Yourself.
God will guide you if you stop wrestling with control.
Everything you need is right with you.
Let others join you in your journey.
Be generous.
You will be given another day to make up for mistakes.
Don’t rush. Slow down. The answers are waiting.
I am feeling a little lost and overwhelmed but I will do what I did every day with my mother Betsi as my co-pilot. I will just put one foot in front of the other, gently and the path forward will become clear. Betsi has packed my life suitcase to the brim with so many memories and lessons. Her gift and my present to use for the rest of my life journey.
What are the lessons that you are using to guide you through?
Leslie
“The most valuable lessons are not taught. They are experienced.”