谷, valley. A rock 口 dwells between two mountains 八人. Lao Tzu calls the Dao, the ‘Great Mother’, 谷神 gǔ shén: the valley spirit. The mother of all things is not the summit; she prefers to dwell with the lowest of the low. She cannot be climbed; therefore she awards no accolades. She receives all things - rain water, silt, tumbling rocks and sewage. All creatures must eventually pass through the valley. The valley does nothing yet 10,000 wild flowers bloom. 🌸 To be a mother you do not need to become a mother. Be like a valley. Open your heart, make space for all creatures. Cherish the rodents and mayflies. Hold a common primrose like a priceless orchid. Listen to what the sparrows sing. Be a rock between mountains and 10,000 things will bloom within you.
To be a mother
I still find it hard to share about not being a biological mother. But it’s been a gradual realisation for me that mothering can go beyond age, gender or vocation. When this dawned on me, I felt great relief. And paradoxically I saw all the ways in which I am already a mother.
I hope you can all recognise and nurture the mothering within you.
Today’s writing was inspired by Chapter 6 of Lao Tzu’s Dao De Ching. It’s basically my bible - a text you can return to time and time again to look for new ways to read it. Two of my preferred translations of Chapter 6 below the original text:
谷神不死,是謂玄牝。玄牝之門,是謂天地根。綿綿若存,用之不勤。
The Tao is called the Great Mother:
empty yet inexhaustible,
it gives birth to infinite worlds.
It is always present within you.
You can use it any way you want.
— translated by Stephen Mitchell, 1988
The valley spirit never dies;
It is the woman, primal mother.
Her gateway is the root of heaven and Earth.
It is like a veil barely seen.
Use it; it will never fail.
— translated by Gia-Fu Feng, 1972