It is good to be reminded that everyone we encounter is fighting a great battle, something we can’t see and can’t understand. Somehow knowing that, gives us courage for our internal battle – to be good, to find our best selves, to see that everything and everyone does not bear the mark of commercial branding, but of its creator, which is a mystery we cannot unravel. And so, it follows that if everyone is fighting a great battle, they require our respect and our compassion as an accompaniment for their journey. 
 
And given that this is Mother’s Day weekend, I would like us to consider applying this thought exercise to the person or persons who have offered the great gift of nurture to us, as we reflect on a grounding principle of practicing compassion: we are not privileged with knowing the motives behind other people's actions. That  privilege belongs to god alone.