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4 Empowering Ways To Act As Mother, Even When You Aren’t One

written by: Kyneret Azizo

Mother’s Day offers the chance to honour our mothers and pay respect to them for bringing us into the world and caring for us. But in light of this year’s Mother’s Day, I’d love to share with you some thoughts about motherly love, even when we ourselves aren’t actually mothers. We may not have children. We may not even be female. But we can still harness that power of a mother’s love and direct it toward other living beings. Our words and actions have the capacity to inject into the world the vast supply of compassion it is aching for.

So here are 4 ways to channel the Divine Mother through random acts of kindness toward others, whether they’re strangers to us or close ones.

1. Pay it forward

Not long ago I watched a YouTube video of random kind things people have done for other strangers. It left me with tears in my eyes and inspired me to act in such a way to others. One clip on the video was of someone who paid for everyone’s coffee in the line-up behind her at the drive-through. I bet not one of those people was expecting to be told by the cashier that their coffee was paid for when they arrived at the window! And that’s exactly the heartening thing about this. It seems we are conditioned not to expect kindness – especially from strangers. We are conditioned not to expect the gifts of life. Or maybe it’s just that we’re hardwired to believe there has to be a tremendous amount of effort on our part to be deserving of it. Whatever it may be, these random acts of kindness are golden opportunities to see that we are all loved, cherished, and cared for – unconditionally – and deserving of unsuspected gifts throughout our day.


2. Make a crying toddler laugh

We’ve all been in a situation where an embarrassed mother is trying to silence her crying child in a public place. If we’d ever taken the time to put ourselves in her shoes, we’d understand the kind of frustration she must have been experiencing. It’s not a good feeling when there’s nothing you can do to silence your crying child and others around you are glaring at you judgmentally – likely assessing your parenting skills. There are countless stories of random strangers taking the time to sing songs to a crying child or make funny faces and gestures, with the hopes of not only appeasing the child but of alleviating the mother of her stress. Motherly love sets aside everything and endeavors to make her children smile through the tears. Here’s a great YouTube video that went viral, of a stranger doing just that, by soothing a crying baby on a flight.

3. Feed those in need – people and animals alike

No person (or animal) goes hungry in the presence of motherly love; She endeavors to feed all her cherished ones. There are so many wonderful organizations to join up with in North America which tirelessly provide nutrition for people on the streets or people who are struggling financially. Second Harvest, which are based in Toronto, strive to reduce the amount of food waste and end hunger. Their goals are set on rescuing and delivering fresh, surplus food and providing over 34,000 meals a day in Canada.

In Thailand the homeless population is very small (only .005% of the population) however they do have a concerning (and growing) number of stray dogs and cats here.
Thai people feed these stray animals which inhabit the streets as if they were their very own. I have observed people (not just Thais, but foreigners as well) buying large quantities of grilled meat skewers just to feed the local dogs and cats that hang around the area. My heart plainly melted when I met one particular gentleman that makes it his Sunday evening ritual to feed all the dogs near the food market. To witness the exertion of good will in this way has inspired me to do the same. I, too, started feeding the dogs at the food markets, and the 3 lovable stray dogs living by my bungalow.

4. Help clean up polluted areas

All around the world there are many volunteer clean-up crews devoted to keeping our planet beautiful and healthy. On Koh Phangan, many have volunteered their time to walk along the shorelines of its beaches and collect the debris that accumulates due to the high volume of Full-Moon Party tourists each month. Some people even set out on their own nature walks, endeavoring to pick up and properly dispose of any trash they see on route.

I feel that when we take responsibility for our planet in such ways, we actively step into the role of Mother. After all, what mother would let her children play in a filthy and toxic environment?
We consider not only ourselves and our loved ones, but future generations to come.

This list of ways to channel the Divine Mother could easily run on extensively, for there is no shortage of ways to be kind in this world. The demand for motherly compassion and generosity seems to always exceed the supply of it.

In taking the time to honour our own mothers, we must remember what a privilege it is to have  
one in the first place. This rememberance can only serve as a catalyst for us to share more love with the rest of the world.

Modo Yoga Maple is treating all moms to a complimentary yoga class this Mother’s Day! You are invited to participate in one of our invigorating and therapeutic classes, free of charge. We look forward to seeing you there! Happy Mother’s Day.

 

 

Kyneret has been practicing and teaching yoga for over a decade. She began as a yoga teacher for Modo Yoga Maple in 2012, and has recently set off on a nomadic adventure to South East Asia. She remains active within our Modo community as a blog writer.

When not writing, she is fully immersed in the day-to-day adventures of travel life and actively seeks out as many foreign yoga experiences as possible to further her knowledge and skills! You can follow Kyneret’s travels on her instagram account @planes_trains_autoimmunity