from "Time for Me" at Sited & Blogged

over at Sited & Blogged, i share a weekly column with Dina called Time for Me. our topics range from mindful meditations to herbal pedicures and i hope you will check us out there some sunday. this is the column i wrote for today:

For most people reading this, today is a day for flowers, brunches, long-distance phone calls and family visits. Lots of us will wake up to sticky fingers and sloppy kisses, homemade cards, uncertainly-wrapped presents and maybe even burnt toast.

But what about those of us who don't have such fond memories of our mothers, or those of us for whom Mother's Day is an annual reminder of something we've lost or never had a chance to have? How can those of us with less-than-ideal mother-memories cope, or those of us who've lost kids or find them faraway today? How about those of us who are lonely, and alone?

One of the things I often hear myself saying to people who come to me for intuitive readings is to tap into what I have come to think of as our "inner mother." Our "inner mother" is the one who knows how to take care of people - and the person she knows how to take care of best is YOU. all of us - and men, too - have an "inner mother."

So today, whether you have ten minutes to yourself or ten thousand, find a quiet spot, settle yourself into a comfortable position, take a few deep breaths, close your eyes, and ask your inner mother to come forward and help you to feel her presence. Ask her to turn some of that attention she most frequently turns to others onto YOU. Ask her to show you how to nurture yourself. Listen carefully, because what she may say might surprise you. Ask her to help you take care of YOU.

For all of us who may be raising children or grandchildren, taking care of parents or grandparents, siblings or other dependents, while maintaining healthy adult relationships and juggling a myriad of responsibilities, it's critical that we spend some time nurturing ourselves because, as unique as we are, only we can know exactly what it is we need.

As my very wise father once told me, "Honey, you can't take care of anyone until you take care of yourself."

i wish all my Gentle Readers a very loving mother's day! please tune in this evening at 6 PM to Discovering Nature's Spirit on blogtalk radio. laura and i will be discussing the Sacred Feminine... call in to join the discussion or to receive a free on-air reading.

and furthermore, the war will end. blessed be.