A Mother's Ideals

By Douglas V. Gibbs

My daughter has been a mother for more than a year, and little Cortez is the bright light in all of our lives. My wife is the mother of two, our children now grown to be adults making their way through the storms of life. I am the oldest of three, and as children my mother did all she could to instill in us the foundations of high ideals.

On this Mother's Day, 2010, it is a moment to reflect on all that mom does. In this world of casual carelessness, while society works endlessly to discourage us from keeping our morals and standards and our ideals high, we remember the words of our mothers when as children we found ourselves in need of her wisdom.

No life is worth living unless it's built on truth, and the foundation laid by our mothers during the early years of our youth remain with us our entire lives, even when we rebel against those ideals. There is an old saying in my family, I believe my mom was the first one to really use it on a regular basis. It goes, "If the right foundation is laid, even though a child may wander away from it, the truth will always lead them back."

That foundation is a strong foundation based on faith, love, and prayer.

Helen Steiner Rice wrote a poem about such foundations, and how the ideals contained within are like "Stars Up In The Sky."

She wrote:

And remember that IDEALS
are like STARS UP IN THE SKY,

You can never really reach them,
hanging in the heavens high. . .

But like the mighty mariner
who sailed the storm-tossed sea,

And used the STARS TO CHART HIS COURSE
with skill and certainty,

You too can CHART YOUR COURSE IN LIFE
with HIGH IDEALS AND LOVE,

For HIGH IDEALS ARE LIKE THE STARS
that light up the sky above. . .

You cannot ever reach them,
but LIFT YOUR HEART UP HIGH

And your LIFE will be as SHINING
as the STARS UP IN THE SKY.


Thanks, Mom, for laying that foundation for me when I was a child. As an adult, it has served me well. Happy Mother's Day.

-- Political Pistachio Conservative News and Commentary

* The poem above is the second half of a poem titled "Ideals Are Like Stars" by Helen Steiner Rice, which can be found on page 87 of her book, Someone Cares, The Collected Poems of Helen Steiner Rice, 1972 by Fleming H. Revell Company.