I borrowed this image from Renee Jackson’s Facebook page. Worth a thousand words.
Okay, this is one of those “Why are we here” philosophical wanderings. If you’re already sure why you exist and can’t figure out what the big foofaraw is, then stop reading. You probably don’t have enough empathy to understand it anyway.
Today is the day we glorify motherhood, and that’s a good thing. It’s a tough job, but somebody’s got to do it, and any of us who had mothers are glad they did.
But for every person who is happy in this messy world of ours, it seems there’s somebody else (or ten somebody elses) who are made sad by the identical situation. So, if you’re one of those people mentioned in the picture above, take cheer. There is hope for you, yet. Read on.
How to Be Happy
Let’s look at it this way. How do you make sure some event or element makes people truly happy? Well, saving the “what is truly happy” discussion for my Doctor’s thesis, let’s keep it simple. If you want to make humans happy, satisfy a need that is essential to their nature. Like, if they’re hungry, feed them. Works every time.
And if you’re looking to satisfy people philosophically, the best answer to, “Why are we here?” is simple. We’re here to propagate the species. First and foremost in the hardwired makeup of every living creature is the need to make more living creatures.
And, if you’re following and thinking ahead, you can see where I’m going with this. Obviously, that makes mothers the happiest people around. And fathers are next.
To Make a Difference
As the diagram above demonstrates, there are a lot of people out there — some of them have already passed on their genes — who aren’t satisfied that they have justified their existence. Because that’s the second most important need for all of us. To think that we count. That we did something important.
And that’s a much more difficult objective to fill. Given the life span of humans, just having produced a couple of offspring during your twenties hardly makes a lifetime of satisfaction. Sure, you get a boost of grandparentship a bit later on, but — at least to this human being — it’s not enough.
What to Do?
So all of us, in our own small ways, whether we know it or not, are out there looking around for things to do that, looked at in our declining years, will satisfy us that we actually did contribute something: to our community, to a group, to an individual, or to humanity in general.
If we were lucky or smart enough, we chose an occupation that helps people. Teachers, medical personnel, emergency services, police, tradespeople and those in the service industries spend every working day making life more bearable for others. If you’re one of those people just remember it, and don’t be jealous of mothers on their day. You have counted, too.
But that leaves out two large groups of people: those whose jobs do not directly help others, and those who don’t have their jobs anymore. Retirees, for example.
Volunteerism
A friend of mine said it recently. “There comes a time when the only way left to make a difference is through volunteering.” Canadian society runs on the efforts of volunteers, many of them senior citizens. Without the contributions of those countless workers, it would double the government’s budget to provide the services that make our country a good place to live. All those volunteers count.
Looking Back
No matter who you are, take time today to sum up your life and what you have accomplished. I think you will see that deeds that were done for selfish reasons were of use to no one but yourself, and their effect will not outlast you. “You can’t take it with you,” begins to be significant. Acts committed for the betterment of others that help build your community will echo long after you are gone.
The Bottom Line
Whoever you are, mother or not, use this day as a moment to celebrate the nurturing of humanity. Take pride in whatever you have done to help everyone else live happy and productive lives. I promise you, you’ll feel good about it.