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A tribute to family cornerstones
A mother holds a vital place in our hearts. She is the life and soul of life. Without her, the whole edifice of society would collapse; she is the lighthouse of the family to guide us in all our enterprises. She possesses a stabilising force behind her. Life would be meaningless without her presence in the family. All the riches of the universe can never buy a mother’s love. She is a priceless jewel in our heart of hearts.
When we are born there is no greater love on earth than the love of a mother for the product of her womb. She has given life to another soul. The pains of childbirth are nothing compared to the sacrifices, the anguish, the torment, the miseries, the suffering that a mother will endure for the comfort, the progress, the survival of her offspring. She is the pelican who will feed her little ones with her own flesh to allow them to survive. She is Bertolt Bretch’s Mother Courage.
A mother’s love, the encouragement that she so tenderly endows us with, has elevated in our minds the supreme effort to succeed. She was the making of us and we felt that we had someone to live for; someone we must not disappoint in life. A mother’s love and encouragement illuminate the whole universe with an incandescent lamp. She serves as a transmitter of culture for us. But, when we grow up, we find that we have not lived up to our mother’s expectations and we have dug deep furrows in her face. We have turned her once youthful hair into greyness.
How many of the younger generation show deep ingratitude to their mothers once they get married? They bury into oblivion all the sacrifices, the sufferings, the care of their mothers. They ill-treat their ageing mothers, ridicule them or even speak haughtily to them. Filial duty no more bears any meaning for them. They even abandon them just like an old piece of furniture in a home for elderly persons. Many mothers suffer stoically when they are faced with the harsh realities of life as they find an intruder in their home hijacking their son whom they have fed, clothed, cherished and loved. Many a time they are left to suffer in loneliness and even die of grief. But sons don’t realise that they may have several wives but only one mother in life.
Never any grudge against us</B>
The death of extended families has led to this sad situation in modern society. «Ingratitude thy name is» - We have forgotten the days when she rocked our cradle while humming a lullaby even though her eyes were gummed with sleep. She has moulded our characters. During the first days when we stepped into the world of education in a kindergarten, we held her hand tightly for fear of being left alone with others. When afternoon came, we hurtled into her arms, sobbing. She is so full of the milk of human kindness. How hard it is to bear the pangs of parting from our mother. She always cares for us and she wants us to climb the social ladder. She toils day and night to provide us with all our needs. At home, as an indefatigable housewife, she is always the first to wake up during winter or summer and the last to go to bed.
Whenever we disobey her or when we are too turbulent at home, she will unhesitatingly spank us for our good. She will inculcate in us moral and spiritual values, showing us the right path in life. She will sit by our side to encourage us to complete our homework. When we are sick, she will take us to a doctor. She firmly believes in an investment in education for social mobility. When we do not behave according to her expectations or worse still if we have flouted her authority and hurt her feelings, she will bury her tears in her pillow at night. But what we admire most in her is her magnanimity; she will never bear any grudge against us. She will always forgive us, no matter how disobedient we may have been. A mother will always remain a mother! How many of us would never have climbed the pinnacle of success, had it not been for the sacrifices, positive training and proper mind moulding of our mothers. Since the beginning of time, mothers have been the unsung heroes behind us.
But it is a heart-rending scene to witness how certain mothers are ill-treated in the end. Is this the reward they deserve after such a long struggle to shape the destiny of their offspring? On Mother’s Day, let us acknowledge to the world the great debt we owe to our own mother by becoming the person that she would have us become and by giving her all the love that she needs so that she can live happily and peacefully for the few remaining years of her existence.
<B>Philip LI CHING HUM</B>
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