Oh great mother father ancestor of us all,

You who we cannot name and cannot fathom

You that is the root of all this, you who are the chain of ancestors that trace back to our unknown beginning, when we first grew on this fertile earth in the lightlessness of space,

We are humbled by you.

Oh great mother of us all,

You whose body encased us, you whose lightless womb was fertile flesh for us to first slowly grow in.

We are speechless, we are without words for the phenomenon of birth.

We are humbled.

We are humbled by all mothers

For those of us who have clear relationships with our mothers, may we hold them in our hearts and carry on, walking with their strong legs and speaking with their wise voices.

For those of us who never knew our mothers, whose face we cannot recall, may we search deep inside ourselves to find traces of their essence.

For those of us with surrogate mothers, may we be in awe of the human capacity for fierce loyalty beyond blood, and the cherish that we need not grow in the womb to grow in the heart.

For those of us who have lost or are losing our mothers, may we be present to our grief and be courageous in our remembering and storytelling.

For those of us who have complicated or strained relationships with our mothers, may we forgive, for we are all human and struggling.

And for those in the room that are mothers, may the warm light shine on you today and warm your faces. May you be seen and cherished.

I invite you to say the name of your mother, however you understand her or them, into this room, and hold her in your heart for a moment of silence.

 

Blessed be.