Mother. She’s the “bomb.” Probably the number one brand in the world and the most recognized archetype of them all.
Who is this woman? Illuminated and idealized, trivialized and mocked. This lady has many faces: nurturing, forgiving, compassionate, protective, critical, abandoning, and abusive. She is the character expressed in various cultures through stories and personas such as Eve, Gaia, Medea, Demeter, Mother Goose, the Wicked Stepmother, the Fairy Godmother, Rose Kennedy, Clair Huxtable, Marmee March, Joan Crawford, Sojourner Truth and Maria Von Trapp.
There is the myth of the perfect mother who only exists in our imagination, yet we hold that impossible image against the real, flawed “perfect” mother we have. She is our first powerful role model, a continuing influence on the choices we make, our health and even our sexuality.
In The Mother Lode Experience — a workshop for women in Los Angeles — my partner Sue Kiel and I have been mining the wealth of information available in exploring the myths that exist in the matrilineal line. As we continue this pursuit, we are unearthing many gems along the way. We are learning much about the deep impact this lineage has on our personal lives and how it impacts the culture. We see that life stories evolve with the telling and retelling.
During the Mother Lode Experience, we offer women an opportunity to give voice to their stories. Then we ask, “How far back can you remember your female line?” “What are the stories about the women in your family?” “Are there elements in your story you want to change?” We keep reminding ourselves to breathe and check in with our bodies to see where we feel the emotions. At The Mother Lode, we want our stories real and we want to rewrite the story of female empowerment and how we got there. It’s a process.
We know what we know. Our passion now is to find the ways to bring consciousness to our unconscious behavior that needs to wake up. We are committed to full out transformation. We teach participants to understand their individual personal mother-daughter connection. We know an empowered mother will enrich the lives of all they touch. It is our desire to inspire women to appreciate and express their fullest, powerful, courageous, juicy, unique, magical, funny, wild, and brilliant selves.
Today, I am thinking about the mothers in my family. I am missing my mother Evie. I am weighing in about myself as a mother. I am pondering my special daughters-in-law Elizabeth and Lenore, who are the mothers of my grandchildren and who bring play and creativity to their mothering. I love being a mother and a grandmother.
It feels good to take a moment to honor her – the Mother. May we all do that today in our own ways.
