This Mother’s Day I am following the call to honour my Mum in a different way. I am doing something I haven’t as yet been able to do since she passed. I am writing an article about her. I feel called to share how much she has inspired me and how she still impacts my work and my life now.
This is an article which is simultaneously both easy and difficult to write. Easy because my thoughts and feelings about my Mum are very clear, but difficult because of the emotion it inevitably churns up as I express my deepest feelings about her in such a public way.
I also dedicate this article to all the Mums out there, to all those women for whom being a Mum is not their reality, to anyone who wishes for a better relationship with their Mum and for all those people who are feeling the pain of loss of their Mum.
Shared passions
My Mum had a lifelong love and unquenchable thirst for spiritual knowledge and connection. It is something which we shared and often talked about on our trips out for lunch or afternoon tea. Whilst a devout Christian herself, she was always curious about my understanding of a broader definition of spirituality. She understood the essence of religion in a way I think very few followers do. She wasn’t perfect but she was in many ways the embodiment of Christianity. It was ever-present in her life and the way she chose to live it.
She always used to say how important it was to have an ‘attitude of gratitude’. Something which I talk to my clients about in the context of the impact this can have on their vibration (and consequently their working life). And also humility which was another one of the values she always aspired to (look out for this subject in April’s blog).
My Mum also had a deep fascination with self development. Back in the 70s and 80s she was reading the works of Louise Hay and Norman Vincent Peale way before the personal growth genre was ever part of popular culture as it is beginning to be now. And even in her later years, she had a copy of Gabrielle Bernstein’s ‘The Universe Has Your Back’ which really spoke to her and helped her make sense of the challenges she was experiencing at the time in a new way and make peace with her past.
One of her other passions in life was her 40 year career as a teacher at the local catholic high school. She delighted in going the extra mile with her pupils and helping put them forward for jobs, gain work experience and giving them the confidence and self-belief to make the best start in their careers. She received countless letters of thanks over the years, all neatly catalogued and eternally treasured.
My biggest awakening
My beloved Mum passed in December 2019. It’s strange to say this but it wasn’t until I was writing her eulogy that I truly recognised how similar our paths had become. The apple certainly didn’t fall too far from the tree! She was always a great champion of my work. She understood the deeper significance of it and the sense of mission and calling I was responding to.
I have experienced three significant awakenings in my life. The first one was when I lived in Florida and had an intense need to discover what lied underneath the very material world I was living in. The second was when I took a career break in Sydney and found myself (spiritually). And the third was triggered by my Mum’s passing. Since then, I have felt more spiritually connected, more at peace and more alive than ever before. This awakening also led to me redefining what I do as a Spiritual Career Coach and transforming my working life in a way I know that she would wholeheartedly celebrate.
Support and guidance
I have always felt that I would one day write a book. My Mum would often ask me about it and always encouraged me to pursue this dream. Even though she is not here in physical form, I feel her guidance and support every day towards me making this dream a reality. I have often experienced waves of creative energy running through me which have propelled me forward and I feel like she has been behind it. Like the Monday morning early last March when I woke up and said to my partner “I need to start writing my book today” and then the ideas and the inspiration just came. And, just this past week, following the guidance towards finding the right people to help me get my book get discovered once it has been published.
Everything has become really clear to me over this past 3 years. I feel in a state of flow with my work which I couldn’t even have dreamt of back in my early days as a coach. I am listening to my intuition more and taking guidance from it and the signs around me. One such sign was presented to me when I was looking for a publisher to bring my book to market…
As I entered the reception area, I couldn’t help noticing a book which was all about the school where my Mum taught. I looked inside and, sure enough, there she was. I laughed and I cried. I knew that she was behind me, guiding me and that I need look no further in finding the right partner to get my book published. And so now, every time I meet with Rob from Bannister Publications, it is my little ritual to go and pay homage to my Mum and remember how much she is still a part of this journey.
A final thought...
Before I sign off, there are two messages I would like to offer for you to take from me sharing this with you. These are in many ways my personal mantras for life:
Your greatest challenge can become the greatest catalyst to your awakening.
You are not on this journey alone – there is guidance all around you if you can just quieten the other noise and listen deeply.
So here’s to you Mum. Forever my inspiration and my guide.
I love you,
Rebecca x
Hello, I'm Rebecca
Career Coach for people on a spiritual path
I support mid-career professionals who are ready to make a career change, launch into a more purpose-led career or business or simply enjoy a more fulfilling or balanced working life.
I believe that we all have a purpose here on earth and that life is too short to be stressed, unfulfilled and playing small.
