This Mother's Day it will be 3 years since I visited the island of Cozumel with my son to celebrate his birthday and the day I became a mother. The island of Cozumel was sacred to the goddess IxChel, the jaguar or moon goddess of fertility and medicine. Each year the Mayan women would make a pilgrimage to honor her. That year I made mine. It seemed so appropriate to celebrate the day of my son's birth and also remember my mother who had died less than 2 months earlier that year. A lot of time had passed since I had traveled internationally and the world had changed. My own life had also changed immensely.
“According to the legends, the Goddess IxChel wreaked havoc on the earth because she sought the admiration of the Mayan sun god, Kinich Ahau, who paid her no attention. In her attempt to be noticed and receive his love, she created all kinds of natural disasters until finally she realized her self-worth and power, as they united and the earth became calm once again.
~Clarissa Harison”
The same red hibiscus flowers that I used as part of a mandala offering for the goddess IxChel during the time I spent on that island, are the flowers that were given to me on the day of my son's birth. A friend had gifted me a small hibiscus tree which bloomed for several consecutive years and then suddenly stopped when my life became chaotic and unmanageable. Last winter this tiny tree bloomed once again after more than 7 years of not flowering. Two flowers appeared after so many years of absence. I knew it was a clear sign than my life was back on track and balance was being restored. Now in May a new bud has formed once more. I wonder what day it will bloom. There's always a reason for the timing.
This year I celebrate my 15th year of motherhood and all that life has taught me. Our mothers and our children are always our greatest teachers. The most important thing that I have realized is what they came to teach me in this lifetime. Sometimes it takes the loss of a loved one and the challenges of a child to reveal your own shortcomings and patterns.
Happy Mother's Day to our blessed Earth and all women around the globe as we honor ourselves and our life giving power. I trust that is our own capacity to heal ourselves, our environment and our family lineages that will ultimately heal this planet and our future.
Clarissa Harison is an advocate for the natural world and has been writing since the 90s about her experiences with nature on behalf of those who have no voice. Her travels and observations healing her own land, as well as her diverse background in international studies, energy of space, the corporate world and consulting/teaching work have led her to develop an intimate understanding of the perfection existing in nature and our own individual journey of finding our way back to ourselves and ultimately restoring the well being of our planet.
2017 Copyright Awen Environments/Clarissa Harison.
