Mother Nature's Tattoo

Mother Nature's Tattoo

Are you aware that the powerhouse of every one of your cells, every single one, is a gift exclusively from your mother? Yes, that legacy came down generation after generation to you ONLY through the mothers, one after another in your direct genetic line. I remember when I found out about Mother Nature’s Tattoo, or perhaps more accurately every mother’s tattoo, when my favorite Biology professor discussed research that proved that mitochondrial DNA is passed down from mothers to their children, exclusively. He went on to say that since the mitochondria of every cell, the critical powerhouse of cells, and in fact, of human life is provided by mothers only, no dads. It was just around Mother’s Day as I recall, and he made a point of saying that like it or not every single person in that classroom, including himself, was completely saturated with gifts from our mothers, and that we owed them a lot. Mother Nature’s Tattoo, as he called it, is forever embedded in the human story and biology, like it or not, the females of the species rule on this point, AND each of us women in the room would be continuing a legacy that started with the very first humanoid female that walked the earth.

It's still amazing and frightening to me, nightmarish and consoling. On the one hand my Mother (nicknamed The Empress of Pain, no kidding) is swimming around in my endoplasm. No matter what I do, regardless of the fact that I have absolutely designed every aspect of my life in opposition of hers, she persists as long as I do. But looking at my daughters, and knowing that my mitochondrial information is alive and well in them, a biological gift and legacy that will last long after I am gone, is rather cool. And they will pass theirs partially mine, and partially the Empress’s to their offspring. It's a bit love/hate, and if we look at it from the standpoint of nature versus nurture perhaps, irrelevant.

Throughout my lifetime I have had the great good fortune to meet truly amazing people who have fulfilled the maternal role so perfectly, just observing them makes me cry with appreciation and admiration. They come in all sizes, genders, ages, cultures, colors - a rainbow, myriad extraordinary people who can create an environment for their children, or anyone’s children for that matter, of serene calm, deep caring, soulful nurturing, natural kindness, firm guidance, and fun. The DNA involved is not the super power, we all know, it is their spirit, experience, and their values that mix together is a blessed soup they share contagiously with everyone around them. As in all things who we are and who we decide to be is our choice alone, DNA be damned.

My mother’s tattoo, so to speak might have given me a predisposition to high blood pressure and eating disorders, but my autonomy empowered me to make better choices, toward fitness and self care. Her massive energy and strength, I have, too, but I focus my superpowers on good and not evil. The powerhouses of my cells are tested and tasked, everyday which my obsessive compulsive nature requires, another part of the tattoo maybe. I like to think that those tiny energy generators embedded in my daughters, will kick in whenever they need them, and even when I have left this world, in a way I will still be helping them do important things.

Whether you are one of the lucky ones, with warm, strong relationships with your mother, or like me, one who grew and succeeded in spite of mine, know that your very cells are engraved with an ancient legacy, a primal energy source, at your fingertips. What greatness will you pursue, with Mother Nature’s Tattoo?