It’s hard on parents when our kids, who once believed we were infallible, find out that we don’t know everything and that we’re not perfect. Down from the pedestal we tumble. It’s hard on our children, too; sometimes the letdown comes in a tough way and they need a while to adjust to the new view of us.

But, most parents love their kids and our kids know it and we all grow on. In fact, parent-love may be the most powerful human force in this world. I give thanks to our Creator that those of us whose parents weren’t able to love us can turn within to the Heavenly Father and Divine Mother for the tenderness and support we need. None of us, no matter what has happened, are ever alone.

I woke up this morning, though, thinking of Mother-Love. The more time passes, the more convinced I am that, in some profound way, we really are children of Mother Earth, that ‘from dust we come and to dust we return.’ The seasons of the year teach us about the seasons of our lives: Our childhoods are the Springs of our lives; our productive years are the Summers. In our Autumns, we share our wisdom gained and in our Winters we must deal with an older body freezing up, getting ready to shut down, to feed and rest again in our Mother. Life, beauty, and connection are all around us and by the time we get to Winter, we know that they’ve been with us all along.

I stood the other day and tuned into Silvine, my ash tree friend. She deepened my understanding of Mother-Love, showing me that everything that grows from Mother, and lives on her, is here for us. Her entire being is aligned with the will of the Universe so that we would know that we are Love, that we are made by Love and that Love is waiting for us to come home to who we are. Every creature, even ants and grasshoppers, will bring us messages from the Universe if we will open our minds and hearts to them.

One of my all-time favorite books is Animal Speak by Ted Andrews,  in which he shares Native Indian wisdom about contacts with our animal friends, whether in nature or in our dreams. One day a large dog with bright, Husky-blue eyes charged down the street toward my daughter, jumped up, licked her in the face and ran into her apartment. My daughter laughed and followed the dog in; then the dog followed my daughter upstairs and laid on her bed for a while. My daughter thought the experience a bit odd, but she felt a joyful connection to the dog. Ted Andrews writes that Dog asks if we are giving or we need unconditional love, or if we need to be more protective of our territory. Are we being faithful and do we need to play more? Jamie Sams’ Medicine Cards and Sacred Path Cards come with deep insights into the nature of who we are, why we’re here, and how, with the help of Nature, All That Grows and our Creature Friends, we can strengthen our relationships with the Great Mystery.

Mother Earth’s love for us lives in even the stones of her body, so that we may find a special stone and sit with it, holding her love in our hands, or placing the stone over our hearts. She wants us to know that there is not one blade of grass, one fallen leaf, one found bird’s wing that is not here to show us her love. So when you walk outside today, look around you and soak up the gift of Mother Love. If it’s all concrete where you are, look to the sky. Cloud People bring us messages, too. Go forth and be loved; and give a little back, too.