Our mother is the person who first teaches us love, the most important
subject in life. Without my mother, I could never have know how to love.
Thanks to her, I can love my neighbors. Thanks to her, I acquired my first
notions of understanding and compassion. Mother is the foundation of all
love, and many religious traditions recognize this and pay deep honor to
a maternal figure, such as the Virgin Mary or the goddess Kuan Yin.
An infant barely has to open her mouth to cry before her mother is
already running to the cradle. Mother is a gentle and sweet spirit who
makes unhappiness and worries disappear. When the word mother is uttered,
already we feel our heart overflowing with love.
--Thich Nhat Hanh