It’s been a while since I last posted on my blog. It’s good to come back and have something to say about being a woman.

Throughout history and literature, mothers are highly honored, written and celebrated for good reasons.  They are only human, yet society puts such high expectations on them that they’re almost demi-gods in their role to deliver “miracles.” A Chinese saying goes even so far as to say “a smart woman knows how to cook up some rice without the grains” — just like the story of the two fish and five loaves to feed the multitude in the Bible! We’ve often read about mothers in poor countries who won’t eat so that their children are fed.  Indeed they are the ones who make “stone soup” for the survival of their children.

All over the world, children turn to their mothers for comfort when they’re in distress — even as babies. Husbands, sons, daughters and sometimes even their own parents turn to them for problem solving — which often require infinite wisdom, patience, empathy, and even self-sacrifice to ensure the well-being for all.

Where does this mother-instinct come from? No wonder some say a mother’s job is  sacred!

Like Wu Qing said in her interview in my documentary “Rise of the Phoenix,” they are the “first teachers and role models” for their children. “Who we are” and “what we become” are deeply influenced by the teachings of our mothers.  They give their daughters permission to be strong, courageous, intelligent, resourceful, curious, driven… and complement them with the softer qualities of gentleness, kindness and compassion.

Not all women are mothers, but all mothers are women. A mother is an awesome creation of God who teaches her daughters to see themselves as human beings first — not someone beneath their brothers and their male counterparts. She gives their daughters permission to be whatever they want to be because after all she created them all equally. Mothers must be relentless to forge new grounds for their daughters for a just and better world.

Happy Mother’s Day.