What My Mother Taught Me About Love and Life

There is something sacred about the love of a mother. It is a love that shapes us, steadies us, and stays with us long after childhood fades. As I’ve grown older, I’ve come to understand this more deeply than ever before.

I was truly blessed to have an amazing, loving mother. Her life was not easy. She endured hardships that many would find difficult to overcome, yet she carried herself with a strength and positivity that still inspires me today.

When my mother was just eight years old, her life changed in an instant. She came home from school one day to be told by her aunt that her mother had left, and her father did not want her. From that moment on, she lived with her aunt and was expected to take on household responsibilities at a very young age. There were many more challenges she faced along the way—ones I won’t list here—but what stands out most is not the pain she endured, but the light she chose to carry through it all.

Despite everything, my mother remained positive. She didn’t speak in terms of spiritual laws or philosophies, but she lived them. She believed in focusing on the good, in holding onto hope, and in choosing love whenever possible.

My mother also filled our childhood with simple joys. She would sing to my sister and me—songs like “High Hopes” and “On the Sunny Side of the Street.” Those melodies carried messages of optimism, resilience, and joy. Without realizing it, she was teaching us how to face life—with faith, with light, and with a hopeful heart.

One of the simple yet powerful lessons she gave me was this:

“When you can’t sleep at night, think about all the good things.”

Such a small piece of advice, yet it carries so much wisdom. Even now, it brings comfort and peace.

When I was younger and raising my own three children, my focus was naturally on them. Like many mothers, I poured my time and energy into caring for my family. But as the years have passed, I’ve come to realize that I wish I had spent more time with the one who raised me with so much love. I did visit her—especially when she became ill, I was there almost every day—but I still find myself wishing I had given her more of my time while she was well.

This is one of the quiet lessons life teaches us: we often don’t fully recognize the depth of what we have until time has shifted it into memory.

Before my mother became ill, I had just finished writing my book, Through the Eyes of Another: A Medium’s Guide to Creating Heaven on Earth by Encountering Your Life Review Now. In it, I encouraged readers to write letters of love and gratitude to the people in their lives—now, while they still could. I decided to follow my own guidance and wrote a letter to my mother, expressing how much she meant to me and sharing some of my favorite memories of her.

She loved that letter.

Years later, when she was in hospice at home, I noticed that same letter on top of her desk, opened. She must have read it many times. Even though she was now unconscious, I sat beside her and read her that letter out loud. As I did, tears rolled down her cheeks.

She heard me.

That moment stays with me as a reminder that love always reaches where it is meant to go.

Today, I still feel her presence. She sends me signs and little reminders that she is still with me. That love—the kind a mother gives—does not end. It simply changes form.

If you are fortunate enough to have a loving mother or a mother figure in your life, I gently encourage you to tell her what she means to you. Spend time with her. Share your gratitude. Say the words that matter.

We don’t always get another chance in the physical world—but love, when expressed, lives on forever.

And to all mothers and mother figures—those who care for children, those who nurture others, and yes, even those who lovingly care for their fur babies— Happy Mother’s Day.

Your love matters more than you may ever know.