Pat Taub
I propose that we enlarge Mother’s Day to honor not just our biological mothers but our spiritual mothers as well. They are the teachers, neighbors, aunts, family friends and others whose generosity of spirit left an indelible impression on our younger selves. Often these women didn’t have their own children but lovingly nurtured and guided children and young adults in their lives.
My own spiritual mothers include a colorful bohemian 12th grade English teacher who helped me become a better writer by gently prodding me to give more rein to my imagination.
While in college I wandered into a party my parents were hosting. One of my mother’s friends, a worldly woman, nudged me to sit down next to her. When she learned I was a fellow book lover, she invited me to visit her home library. On my first visit I left with a book by Colette, returning often to borrow more books. I cherished our stimulating conversations, and her undivided attention.
More recently I was part of a women’s spiritual retreat center in Tenants Harbor, Maine. A few of the older members listened thoughtfully to my spiritual confusion, offering direction and providing support. I found solace in their quiet, accepting manner.
Adelaide, 90, and Connie, 80, 2018, two of my revered spiritual mothers
Over the years close friends have been my spiritual mothers (as I’ve been to them.) They comforted me when my divorce grew ugly; when my parents died; and when my ex husband died tragically from drowning. Their support has been invaluable.
In Native American culture the childless woman is never shamed or given the label of “childless” because she is welcomed as a “mother” to her siblings’ children and other children in the community.
A gathering of Native American women, representative of Spiritual Mothers
Kim Catrell, the actress, best known for her role in “Sex and The City,” describes her life as a spiritual mother:
“I’m not a biological parent, but I am a parent. I have young actors and actresses that I mentor. I have nieces and nephews that I am very close to. The thing that I find questionable about being childless or childfree is, are you really? There is a way to become a mother, in this day and age, that doesn’t include your name on the child’s birth certificate. You can express that maternal side of you very, very clearly, very strongly…. So I feel I am a mother, of sorts . . . because I care about the next generation.”
Kim Catrell reflecting on her life as a Spiritual Mother
Women’s history has supplied me with an unending supply of spiritual mothers: women on the vanguard who assume a revered space in my memory bank of remarkable women. Among these spiritual mothers are the Suffragettes, Simone de Beauvoir, soulful writers like, Audre Lorde and Adrienne Rich, and living social justice champions, like Angela Davis and Alice Walker. Their courageous examples and writings never fail to inspire and elevate my own spiritual self.
The Suffragettes
Globally all women are called to be spiritual mothers to our troubled planet. We’re called to invoke our compassionate nature to stand for climate justice and world peace.
This Mother’s Day, why not honor some of your living spiritual mothers and send them a mother’s day card where you thank them for their presence in your life? If they’re no longer here, light a candle for them.
A home altar with lit candles: paying homage to spiritual mothers
As we celebrate Mother’s Day, let’s not overlook the brave mothers in Gaza who have been challenged to hold their families together through multiple displacements and the deaths of children, spouses and extended family members. Presently they face new challenges trying to scrape food together for children facing death by starvation from Israel’s 60-day blockage of all food into Gaza. Mothers in Gaza are a moving example of the power of a mother’s love in a world where love is in short supply.
Nermeen Tafesh prepares her family’s only meal of the day with her five children in their destroyed home
