Mother

(Taken with my iPhone)

When I was younger, I never really saw much of my mother. I didn’t know it then but it was because she was always off at some party, out to lunch with some friends, playing tennis with some new racket, shopping at some expensive boutiques…we were left in the hands of our more-than-capable grandparents and domestic helpers so it never seemed like we missed anything.

As I grew older, my mother was never around the house anymore than usual but I slowly grew more aware of my surroundings, and the reasons why she was ‘disappearing’.

My mother’s never been one to follow the crowd. A stand-out person, she follows what she believes, and does what is necessary to make something work. If you’re her friend and you don’t respect what she believes in, (excuse my French) tough shit because come hell or highwater, she’s sticking to it if your reasoning makes no sense.

That’s especially if your reasons are selfish because she’s an inherently generous person. That’s also why when she met Rinpoche and she found a spiritual home in Kechara, that was that for her.

Instead of running down white lines chasing after little green balls, she started chasing a spiritual goal, helping others using what she had been blessed with.

It began simply enough – join Kechara, attend pujas and teachings, help to build a centre, etc. It kept her busy, and it kept her out of the house so I started tagging along to see what all the fuss was about.

After all, something must have made this angry, frustrated, bored woman turn into a happy, motivated, light person. And that something must be good because well, my mother isn’t the easiest person to convince because she’s pretty damn smart.

After years of Kechara-attending and watching other departments open, Rinpoche put her into Kechara Soup Kitchen (KSK), to help the people that society often chooses to forget.

Just imagine that – a lady floating about in the very highest strata of society, coming ‘down’ to work with people who might otherwise live their lives alone and forgotten.

Since then, KSK has just grown in leaps and bounds. My mother’s a natural leader who just knows how to get people behind her and that’s exactly what she’s done…along with letting go of her misconceptions about herself, about her capabilities, about her preferences and just pushed her to do the best for others.

I’m immensely proud of my mother. I know it wasn’t easy for her and these days, on some days, it still continues not to be easy for her, but she just moves on through because she knows the cause is bigger than herself. It’s why I found it incredibly apt for the Starbucks’ Live & Inspire series to pick her as one of the guest speakers – my mother is a walking, talking, breathing example of someone who lives to serve others and, in that way, inspires so many.

The Starbucks’ Live & Inspire series is about examples of ordinary people who have lived the extraordinary and to me, for me, there can be no better example than my mother.

<3 you mum!

childhood, family, inspiration, kechara soup kitchen, mother, photo, sport, Tsem Tulku Rinpoche Family, Kechara Soup Kitchen