Son’s Tribute To Mother’s Wisdom

A Mother’s Wisdom – words to live, is a little book compiled by Anthony Ryan of his mother's frequent sayings that were often borne out in their lives. For example, the first quote ‘there is a reason for everything’, is followed in the book by a heartrending short account of a teenager and her baby sister. A life that was hard-worked with more than a few tests along the way, from deaths of husbands or babies, to unplanned pregnancies, and the book offers her simple yet effective words uttered on these occasions. In crucial moments, simple words of wisdom have deep impact on those concerned.

Though widowed twice, and once through violence, his mother never lost her faith in people and often said how she had met so many good and helpful people. One of her quotes is that ‘people are good’, and the author illustrates this with a situation, and how we and those we know are likely to react. Our purpose she said, time and again was ‘to help one another.’

This woman who left school at fourteen, though not over-religious, had a keen sense of a next life but with a determination to concentrate on this one first, ‘Every moment is a blessing’ and as she also said at the various funerals in their lives ‘we are only passing through.’

Long before and unaware of the life and positive affirmation coaches, his mother always spoke of ‘thinking up.’ ‘Never put yourself down. Never put anyone else down,’ she often repeated, and ‘Open your mouth when you speak. Open your heart before you speak.’

There are quotes regarding health and food, time, helping, life's roads, and healing. The focus of the words is people as for his mother ‘it is always about people,’ with a reminder of the importance of the magic words ‘sorry’ and ‘thanks.’

The book concludes with a description of how loving the world seemed to the author thanks to his mother, and this can be enjoyed by any of us. As the author says, ‘it does us good to hear or read of love, in any form no matter what the context or persons involved, for, being human, we are all implicated in love in one way or another.’

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