MOTHER

 From a child's point of view, mother provides love and a home for us from the time we are just a few cells and throughout the rest of our lives; she provides a place to grow and develop.  She goes through pregnancy, labor and childbirth and is able to nourish us through breast milk.  Every mammal throughout history has these abilities.  Until the past few decades, she was the primary caretaker and teacher and her love continues no matter what.

Some cultures down through time have envisioned supernatural goddesses, but most religions of today don't have these images.  Societies mostly powered by men have placed females into a more secondary or subservient role; however, we do have Mother Nature.  She provides all our earthly needs.  We survive because of her.

When we have or have had the love of our mother, we understand unconditional love.  As we become mothers, we continue the cycle of life.

FATHER

From a child's point of view, dad loves us, protects us, provides our needs, teaches us about right and wrong, seems to know the answers to questions, and is our hero.  We feel safe, secure, and loved.  As child turns into adult, we learn to provide for ourselves, think for ourselves, and sometimes even disagree with dad.  Dad needs to respect that his child is an adult.  Dad and child will always love each other.

As long as father is alive, he can provide comfort and love, but because his influence diminishes, many cultures around the world envision a supernatural father who is much more than our human father.  Perhaps, we may yearn to be childlike and feel the presence of a superior being taking care of us just like dad used to do.  

PROTECTION

Protect your body and your mind from danger.  Our bodies need protection from sunburn, glare, frostbite, loud noises, diseases, and unwanted pregnancies.  We need protection from unlawful people and counties.  Some need to protect themselves from physical and emotional abuse from parents, spouses and partners.  Protecting ourselves from brainwashing, manipulation, propaganda, spam, and fake news may be more complicated.

When we see, hear, and read something, we need to think about the source and if it is trustworthy.  We hope that we can trust messages from parents, family, and close friends.  We want to trust our favorite leaders and politicians.  The responsibility is ours to think and decide how to protect ourselves.

VACATION

Get away from it all: regular routine, home, job, responsibilities.  Maybe to a different location, new activities, more relaxation, fun and adventure.  Take a VACATION!

This location is in Mexico with perfect weather.  New activities included water exercise and Zumba in the pool, dance lessons with Mexican instructors, Spanish lessons, evening music and shows, consuming all kinds of food, time at the beach, meeting new people.

The best part was spending time with family.

You may choose a different location, activities, and fun. Or some do a staycation at home by temporarily deleting job responsibilities, adding more rest and relaxation, visiting interesting places nearby, and having more fun. 

      

TOLERANCE

Easy to tolerate a  person who is just like you, same background, opinions, and behaviors. However, a person of a different ethnic group, native country, religion, political opinions, or types of behavior may stretch your tolerance level.  Anyone can say, "Live and let live, as long as you're not hurting anyone."  But then we may have subconscious bias, stereotyping, prejudice, and misinformation lurking in our brain that we need to address before tolerance can be real.

Diversity in our schools, neighborhoods, workplaces, and what we see and hear in the media can obviously improve our understanding and tolerance of those that are different than we are.  Focusing on our similarities can make the differences less important.

Our democracy gives us many freedoms and limits certain behaviors not tolerated and even punished.  By our votes, we can influence the law.  Citizens have various opinions but the majority rules.  Religions also promote what they think should and should not be tolerated.  Other interest groups try to persuade us to think about issues.

You don't have to agree with people to tolerate them, but just respect them to have their own opinions. Be sure you really think about what and why you have some things you will not tolerate.