Tuesday, March 18, 2008

A Mother's Love


Hi Mama!
Hi Baby!

Can you feel me?
I feel your little foot pressing on me right now. Are you restless, darling?

I want to come out Mama.
Not yet Baby, but soon.

How soon?
Very soon.

How will my new world be Mama? Is it peaceful like in here?
Sometimes Baby, but sometimes not.

What do you mean, Mama?
Well, you will find there are places where peace and tranquility reign but also places where chaos and strife reign.

But I like peace Mama. How will I find peace?
Well, whenever you find yourself searching for peace, know that it is already within you. It's in your state of mind. But you will find that sometimes accessing this will be a difficult thing.

Why, Mama?
Well, because of people, darling. Because of what they do. There will be times when things will not go your way, everything will not always be fine or fair. There will be times when you will be called to challenges and although it may take much out of you emotionally, know that in the end, you will always be a better person for it. There is no cross that you will never be able to bear. Remember that always, my darling.

But why is this so, Mama? Why do we need challenges?
Because that's how we grow, darling. How are we to raise ourselves and push ourselves to being better, getting to know the Divine in us, if we are never called to challenges?

Hmmmm...
Do you understand, Baby?

No Mama, I don't.
I'm sorry, darling, I forget. Right now you have no point of reference because you are growing inside my womb and are protected from this outside world. But in time you will come to understand.

I'm scared Mama.
Don't be, sweet Baby, because there are many here who love you and will protect you and guide you until the day you become one with the Earth.

Tell me more about your world, Mama.
Well, our world is many things, Baby. It is a melting pot of different peoples, cultures and emotions.

What does that mean?
It means that you will find much beauty and love; it means that you will find much cruelty and sadness. You cannot have one without the other. It is, unfortunately, the way our world is balanced. For every good, there will be a bad; for every right, a wrong; for every joy, a sadness. Trust that you will always find polar opposites of many things. And trust that nothing ever stays the same, for the world changes daily.

All this seems very confusing, Mama. Why can't it always be happy and peaceful?
I don't know, Baby. Good question. Many of us here ask the same thing. But the reality is that sometimes ego is involved, sometimes a sense of entitlement is involved, sometimes a sense of superiority is involved. We tend to forget that we are all connected to the Divine and we are all one people. Yet, we live in a constant state of division -- whether in religion, politics, cultures, intelligence, economic status. I can go on, but you will get the gist in time, Baby.

But why is this so, Mama?
Because we forget, Baby. We forget that we are all the same. We all love with the same passion, we all hurt, cry and grieve for the same important things -- things that happen in our lives and to our loved ones; we all feel hunger the same way; we all rejoice in our good fortune; we all struggle in one form or another. We forget Baby. We forget that we all feel these things the same way. We are not different at all.

And what is respect, Mama?
Respect is the word that I never want you to forget. Always respect others even in the midst of much anger or hurt; always respect your environment, for you and the Earth are connected; always respect all living things, for they feel the same way you do; and always respect other people's views and cultures, even if you fail to understand.

Will I someday understand, Mama?
Yes, Baby, someday you will. It is your path in life to always try to understand because through understanding you will find your compassion and empathy and unconditional love for all living things.

Do you love me Mama?
Oh, Baby, more than you will ever know.

How much do you love me, Mama?
More than life, Baby, more than life...

I love you Mama.
I love you too Baby.

She then sees her son as a baby, a boy, a young man and, finally, a grown man with a family who has always had her tender heart and loving smile. A tear escapes the corner of her eye, Please God, my life for his....

"Doctor, we have to hurry, we're losing her."

"Steady....steady....here he is....welcome to the world young man!"


A newborn cries....

a mother ____________

25 comments:

PixieDust said...

This has me in tears... first of all that photo is AMAZING, it reminds me of when my baby tapped her little foot against my belly... so sweet...

Your words, this story, have evoked every emotion, extreme highs to absolute miserable low...

Bravo, mi Amor, bravo...

(((Abrazos)))!

Love,
Me

Anonymous said...

Very interesting road you led us on. It's very sad. Not a way any baby should come into the world.

rebecca said...

Corina,

Unfortunately, tragedies like this still happen. But I wanted to show the love that exists between a mother and child even before it comes into the world.

Pixie,

Yes, it was meant to inspire the spectrum of emotions...as the emotional symbolism all of us mothers go through in our lives.

Yet, as mothers, this is something that touches us all on our deepest, saddest level and we can all universally understand the fear, the love, the unconditionality of it all....

L said...

this was amazing, and the picture, oh my gosh, where did you find that.

Anonymous said...

You are fast becoming one of my favourite writers. Why can't everyone look at life like this? You have captured the essence of humanity in one fell swoop. LOVED it!

paisley said...

wow rebecca.. this is just chock full of excellence... what a write!!!

Jeques said...

Rebecca,

I know all the dialogues and the emtions involve could be better and fully absorbed with the sad ending. But could you be a little kinder and make the mother live?

We have so much sad stories already in the real world, could you make it happier at least in fiction?

"... a new born cries...

a mother__________________________
"She alive! we revived her!"

I'm a nurse, I can do that.

I wish you well.

~ Jeques

Postscript:

Epilogue

... it is sunset, and perhaps the sunset, too, of her life. Her frail hand rests on the strong caring hand of her son as they walk the infinite sands to their way home while the sun sets behind them. He will walk many miles more from here, this could be her last.

Anonymous said...

I see a leg! A small leg!!! Wow!!! A leg in a belly!!! O.o"

Amazing!!!!

rebecca said...

Leigh,
I actually got this picture from those emails that always go around which are full of amazing pictures. I'm glad you liked it.

Selma & Paisley,
Thank you! I'm glad you enjoyed it.

Jeques,
Thank you so much for that input. Most of my stories go from darkness to light; this time, I wanted to do the reverse. The point of the story was that things don't always go as planned, no matter how much we wish it and no matter how unfair it seems. We've all been down that road. Yes, I could have given it a happy ending, but not everything ends happily. And, I agree, there is already much sadness in the world, but that sadness also needs to be heard and needs a voice. But, again, thank you and I'm sorry :)...I'm sure you will be pleased with my next story since I tend to veer towards the light more than the dark. :)

gypsy said...

the pic...i was stunned for more than a minute...

the post is sooo amazing, you weave and interpret emotions and they never fail to make an impact...

Anonymous said...

Ha! I was so fooled! I was so lulled by the mother/child conversation that even when there was a hint that things weren’t going well for the mother, “...we’re losing her,” I didn’t take that as a final thing and when I saw “a newborn cries... a mother ____________” my brain was spinning...fill in the blank...sighs, then, a mother sighs! Well, that would have made Jecques happy anyway! :-)

thailandchani said...

Wow.. that truly is some amazing writing!

The picture, too. I've never seen anything like that before.

skeptic saint said...

@ rebecca

wow! your post was just more than brilliant...am your fan...

and yeah the photo is an work of photoshop...they usd to show this in our photoshop classes...google it and you ll find that...

Tumblewords: said...

Certainly stirs the emotions and aligns reality with dreams. Nicely done!

Lifeless in Ohio said...

An absolutely fascinating picture with an unbelievably more fascinating write! Wow - what a find!

Anonymous said...

Awesome photo! We don't get see something like this. I like the dialogue. The ending? All too true in rural India..

dancing comes full circle

Prats said...

This was so beautiful and touching all at once. Such a lovely dialogue between the mother and baby.

Anonymous said...

Wow...WOW...what a nice photoshot...speaks volumes of THE baby kicking in the "tummy". Lovely post too on the Q&A style.

Robin said...

This brought tears to my eyes as well.

A friend of mine wrote a beautiful song about pregnancy entitled "Strangers With One Heart". How very sad to imagine that this mother and child were destined to remain strangers.

Rambler said...

the mother lives on....

aMus said...

the photo is beautiful...the mother child dialogue touched my heart...i LOVED reading this..

Pirate Princess said...

oh so heartbreaking. I wish moments like this were painful memories, but still they do happen.

beautifully written.

WH said...

Spectacular writing. So many opposites to deal with here on earth. I'm still trying to "learn how to learn." Lots to digest here, with a great ending.

Anupama said...

Brilliant work...great choice of whom the conversation should be between so that it has the maximum impact...and very hard hitting facts of this world...I was moved upon reading this piece and I am thankful to you for sharing this with us all...

Keep writing!

RV said...

You know that feeling when you love some1 so much that you want to protect it from everything bad in the world? I had that feeling when I read this. If and when I do become a mother, I am going to have such control issues. I hope the world becomes a better place,soon.