Remembering mom on Mother’s Day

Mom – a refuge from Nazi Europe where many of her relatives were exterminated in concentration camps – was, nonetheless a fierce optimist.

Mom’s deep gratitude to this country led her to dedicating her life to fighting with every ounce of her love to protect this breathtakingly beautiful land and community.

Her accomplishments in environmental protection and farmland conservation, however, would be substantively diminished if viewed solely, or even primarily, through filters of environmentalism or activism.

Mom believed in the goodness of people, and that we could transcend our (often substantial) differences and, by sitting down and talking with each other, we could find common ground and forge a positive path forwards. Once, while recovering from cancer surgery, she quietly admitted that she had wanted to dedicate her life to creating peace in the Middle East. Indeed, mom’s pragmatism and humility moved mountains.

These days, I find myself remembering mom’s wisdom, perspective and approach to life more than ever before. And I can’t help but wonder if we might find a solution to the divisiveness and polarization ravaging our politics, communities and relationships today by pausing a beat, taking a deep breath and, like mom, find solutions by sitting down and just talking with each other.