Happy Mother's Day

I found a poem from the founding of Mother's Day at Jesuspolitics, and thought I'd share one of its lines:

"Let [the mothers of the world] then solemnly take counsel with each other as to the means
Whereby the great human family can live in peace,"

It would be impossible for me to list the gifts my mother has given me through the years, and foolish to try to rank them in this space, but it seems appropriate, today, to cite one idea in particular that she has tried hard to teach me--the idea that we are all, really, one family. (Vasudhaiva Kutumbukam.) More concretely, I have always been struck by her practice of considering the needs of people my age with the thought, "Well, if this was my child, how would I want them to be treated or situated?"--a practice that seems to go to the heart of the Mother's Day peace movement. It perhaps is not enough to use the Golden Rule alone, because we are often unkind to ourselves and it is also difficult to transfer our own point of view to someone who is the object of our actions. But if we combine the Golden Rule with our sense of love, presumably that which is best and brightest in ourselves, we probably have a better shot at getting it right. I know if more people had a mother as wonderful as mine, the world would definitely be a much better place. It's terribly trite, but I honestly think I have the best mother in the world.

And, in the spirit I mentioned above, I'd like to say that because I have a very cool bunch of friends, I've managed to meet a very cool bunch of mothers--women I hold largely responsible for producing some of my favorite people. So, a salute to good mothers everywhere--thanks so much and please keep it up!