A prayer for all the ways we are in relationship to the title and role of Mother. may our hearts and minds be spacious and awake as we hold them all in our awareness as equals.

For the mothers among us and everywhere, who intimately know the dedication and reward, beauty and heartache of bearing and nurturing new life in a complex and ever changing world. May they feel loved and appreciated. May they find rest when they are weary.

For the mothers we miss, who have passed from this lovely earth.

May the memory of their laughter, their loving gaze, and all their wisdom and grace be alive in us and recreated through us.

For the mothers missed because they never quite knew how to mother, just as their own mothers did not. May we know they did their best. May there be forgiveness and transformation for generations to come.

For the mothers we miss because too many miles separate us, and some days we wonder why we moved so far away. May we find acceptance and a myriad of ways to love them from afar.

For the mothers who miss their children who live so far away. May you bless them and live your life as fully as you hope they live theirs.

For the mothers who miss their children who are lost in confusion and hurt, shunning the ones who gave them life. We pray for their safety and healing. We pray for them to find a way back.

For the mothers who miss the children they unthinkably lost – as infants, toddlers, teenagers, young men and women, and who live in this loss with a poignant & tender daily remembrance. We pray for them to feel held by a wide net of strength and compassion. May they know peace in their hearts.

For the would-be mothers, those who miss the children they thought they would have. Miscarriage, abortion, the inability to conceive – may these losses be held in loving kindness. May we foster ways to invite them in, as honorary mothers.

We pray for them to know their place and value in the circle of life.

For all the ways the term ‘Mother’ can comfort and hold us, may we also be mindful of the other stories it tells, and may we hold these stories in a generous light.

For all the ways that the term “Mother” can mystify and challenge us, may we learn new ways of perceiving. May we live on spacious ground that holds us all as equals, remembering “I am thou, and thou art I.”
May we care for the earth mother and each other. Amen.