Reflection

It is good and I feel necessary,  to look at not just the image in the mirror, but look at what is really in the mirror.  Who is it? What is it? Why is it?  How did it get there?  Do YOU know?

Personal reflection is a very important step in the daily process of staying true to yourself.  If you cannot look in the mirror and honestly answer all of those questions (and sometimes more) without having to say "I don't know"... then you have a lot of work to do in finding your own truth--after all, that reflection is YOU!  If you do not know who or what the hell it is, how can you expect the rest of us to know.

I am not saying I am perfect, but I try to answer each and every one of those questions as often as possible--sometimes the answers change.  Life is all about change and as long as you can embrace that fact and stay true to yourself, you can be truly free.  The truer self you give to others, the more truth you will receive in return.  

Thinking about something as simple as Mother's Day, I am reminded of a lot of my answers to those questions. While some answers have remained the same, along the way, some of those answers have changed and brought about more questions.  Not all of them are easy to answer, but they still must be answered.

Losing a parent at an early age is supposed to somehow be easy since you technically did not form any lasting bond or any type of meaningful relationship, but I do not think anything could be farther from the truth.  In my case, where one was gone, another stepped in and did so without missing a beat. I have been very fortunate in my life to not have just one mom, but many.  The one that made me, the one that molded me, the ones that have supported me through good and bad.  

Along the way, aside from having an awesome family, I am very fortunate to be surrounded with a great number of very close friends that are not much different from family (other that we don't share common DNA at that level).  That old saying "It takes a village"... well, it may, but in my case, it all just came about naturally.  So, when I start thinking about "my" questions, a lot of those answers are easy.  

We may not realize the real value or true intent of mothering when we are younger, but maturity brings quite a bit of understanding through reflection.  

I, for one, am very thankful for all the mother's, mom's, Nannies, Nancy's, Sue's, Paula's, Mary Fancis', Maria's, Janet Rene's, and countless others I've had in my life.  

Happy Mother's day to all of y'all 

Much love.

"The Only Easy Day Was Yesterday"