Sometimes we scoff at certain holidays. We wonder if perhaps some of our these events must certainly have been invented by florists and/or greeting card makers. Certainly, there are many commercial aspects to many of our holidays. We even threaten to boycott certain events since we have become so suspicious of the origins of certain celebration days.

Mothers' Day is not a holiday that too many of us ignore. Most people revere mothers and justly feel that they are most deserving of honor and praise.

Julia Ward Howe, one of the inventors of Mothers' Day holiday believed:

...that mothers bore the loss of human life more harshly and intimately than anyone else and placed the responsibility for the peace effort on mothers.

I think Ms. Howe got it about right. Sorry Dads, but, I believe that most women do feel the loss of a life more deeply than most men. Whether it is loss of life due to war or adoption, women feel the void more acutely than the majority of men. Some men are exceptionally sensitive and caring and do feel the loss of a child or a life as deeply.

Mostly though, I believe women - and mothers in particular - are capable of the most intimate connection with their children. Consequently, the loss of a life - particularly of her own child - wounds mothers in a manner so significant it penetrates their hearts and soul in a powerful way. For a woman, there is no other loss that can compare to the loss of her child. Nothing else even comes close.

Mothers' Day is about honoring the great capacity that women have to love their children and to cherish life. It is to acknowledge that mothers value peace and have the ability to educate others about the importance of peace in our world. More than anyone else, mothers know that peace, security and a world without war is a worthy goal.

For more about Julie Ward Howe and the origins of Mothers' Day Read More Here.