If grace is being able to bring better into a situation, then my mother has taught me that humility ignites kindness and turns it into grace.
Life has been a masterclass in these virtues. There is no single act that stands out in her ability to calm and empower. Instead, it is a mosaic of consistent everyday rhythms that I want to celebrate.
They have been instilled in me from childhood, and provide gentle, steady guidance now.
We are all connected
In my home, food has always been an opportunity to give thanks.
My mother religiously reminded my sister and me through the food on our plates that our lives do not exist in isolation. Food was a symbol of the efforts of many to source, nurture and prepare.
These early lessons in how we are all connected in a beautifully delicate system has rippled through my life.
Be content with what you have
As a former schoolteacher, paying close attention to the needs of those who are vulnerable comes as second nature to my mother.
As the pandemic has taken hold in recent weeks, she has been very diligent about what she really needs, versus what she could do without, so that someone else could have.
This has translated into inspiring acts of charity.
Create your comfort zone
My mother reminds me that we are all walking an eternal tightrope that stretches from an unchangeable past to a future waiting to be shaped.
She has been relentless in her calls for me not to let the little things ruin my happiness, but to let the little things fuel my happiness.
Little things like wafts of early morning sunlight, a fragrant curry, the cuddle of a dog, evening birdsong, and strong memories of an insanely happy childhood.
I am here
I have spent almost two decades of Mother’s Day celebrations physically away from my mother as I have forged my own life. Yet, she has always felt close and present.
In the incessant noise of life, she has brought a gentle, calming chorus that echoes true and deep at this time.
It says, “There is nothing I can give you except my heart and my presence.”
Have faith
My mother’s faith is born of experience and reflection. It is grateful for what she has seen and done and lived, and joyfully trusting for all that remains unseen, undone and unlived.
This is perhaps her most powerful gift to me, and the one I thank her for most often.
This simple yet powerful, eternal faith that all is as it should be, and that better will come one day, empowers and energises me.
Through her own blend of humility, kindness and grace, my mother lives her own mantra of “do good, and good will follow”. It imbues my own life with a sense of purpose to walk in the same light.