"Mommies are special because they made us." (by Mario Melendez)

As my little girl was watching TV with me, she turned around and said: "Daddy, I think mommies are special because they made us." Well, besides feeling proud of my daughter for making such a deep and profound observation (and I admit, in such an adorable way) it made me think. And where would we all be without our mothers?

I have had the privilege of meeting some courageous, intelligent, strong and compassionate women in my life from all walks of life: different places, different political parties (yes, can you believe that lol), different faiths and worldviews (from Christian and Pagan, to Buddhist and Atheist), different countries, etc. And many of these women (when they are mothers now or later) simply never stop to amaze me. In many ways I am the man I am today due in part to them.

And some of these women are not biological mothers.  Along with the mothers that adopt, I include all the aunts, sisters, friends, and strangers; I include the unknown woman that some years ago took pity on me because she saw that my daughter (who wanted to go to the restroom) did not want to go to the Men's room but wanted ME to take her into the Ladies room....the lady said "You need help, do you want me to take her and you can wait for her outside?" I was truly thankful, and so was Maggie :)

So I was looking at some of my books and I saw my copy of "She Who Is" by theologian Elizabeth Johnson. Besides being an important book in the development of feminist theology, it also has (as part of her meditations and thoughts) some beautiful quotes from poets, philosophers, thinkers, and even songs.

So allow me to share the following from the book, a song from Colombian Indians that expresses how human beings should be good guardians of the world, as good parents of a large household that includes vulnerable but necessary nonhuman creatures with their own beauty, value, and integrity. The writers of the song were inspired by the concept of wholistic concern for universal justice and the image of God the Mother:

She is the mother of all races, the mother of all tribes.
She is the mother of thunder, mother of the rain and rivers,
the mother of trees and all living things.
She is the mother of the animals, the only one,
and the mother of the Milky Way.
And the mother has left in us a memory...
She left songs and dances as a reminder.