When I reflect upon the lessons my mother taught me, this is what comes to mind:

• never give up; there is always a solution
• this too shall pass
• good luck will find you
• love and respect Mother Nature
• some gifts reveal themselves later in life
• speak your truth with kindness
• love can be found in unexpected places

..and so much more! But yes, there were also hard lessons I learned from her: in my younger years I perceived her as critical and controlling. I have tried very hard not to emulate that behavior. In that way she was and is my teacher as well.

So take the time to reflect upon the gifts you received from your mother, whether these gifts were intentionally given or not. We want to reach closure with our parents, so we can be free from regrets or unfinished emotional business. The beautiful fact is that we can communicate with our parents even when they are on Spirit side. We can express our appreciation and gratitude for all they did for us, and we can also let them know what we learned from them by means of the mistakes they made, flaws that affected us, actions that hurt. It’s not about judging, more about forgiveness and inner peace. Permanent lack of forgiveness creates more karma that may need to be resolved in another lifetime. Isn’t it preferable to untie the knots in our parental relationships during our lifetime?

Spirit does not judge; maybe true unconditional love is hard to attain while in a human body. We can all make a decision to come from love instead of fear, no matter what we experienced.

Today I talked to a client who has had to distance herself from her mother who is a practising alcoholic, slowly drinking herself to death. That is a choice this mother made, and there is nothing her daughter can do to “save” her. But it is possible to make peace with that painful situation. We can send our loved ones white light which acts as an unconditional prayer: we simply ask for their highest and best to be done, without claiming to know what that might be.

Many family traits and characteristics get passed on from one generation to the next. Ancestral energies are present in our lives, whether we like it or not. But as multi-dimensional beings we are not bound to linear time: we can go back through the timelines and heal ancestral patterns. In this way we not only take steps to heal our own lives, we even contribute to healing our ancestors. We should also thank our ancestors for all the good traits and talents they may have passed on to us, and for creating the space that invites our own evolution.

We reincarnate in soul clusters, taking on different roles in our relationship with members of our soul cluster over many lifetimes. We choose our parents and other family members not randomly, but on the background of past lives experienced together. Of course, the purpose is always the learning of important lessons that contribute to the evolution of each soul. Often the people who are closest to us are our greatest teachers, but the lessons don’t always come in nice packages.

In healing family karma we may develop deeper compassion with some family members, and we may also need to draw healthy boundaries with others until we have progressed in our healing journey. It is important to remember that we always have the power of choice. When we let go of our negative attachments we can appreciate our family members more, knowing that we are all each other’s teacher with the ultimate purpose of growth and evolution. That helps us return to love in spite of differences and to appreciate the divine purpose behind all our relations.

So go ahead and celebrate your mother today, from a heart full of gratitude and love! She deserves your affection, whether she was/is a “perfect” mother or not. Also celebrate the divine child within, that precious little girl or boy that came into this world to shine her/his/their light. Connect with that child within and let the child know that you love her/him/them unconditionally.

Love heals all! And so it is.  Happy Mother’s Day!