From one of the Walk for Peace unofficial pages

I feel many can relate to this, even though it says mother. Recently I have realized I am tired of the many groups I have online, in person etc. I allowed my cup to run down to almost empty. Time to shift to being for a spell!!

For the mother feeling "useless" in a quiet house, see how Buddha’s wisdom helps 🍂

You walk past their bedroom door. It is perfectly clean. You sit on the edge of their bed. You bury your face in their pillow, just to catch a faint scent of them. For 18 years, you begged them to clean this room. Now, the tidiness breaks your heart.

It is 4:00 PM. The house is deadly silent. For two decades, this was your "Rush Hour." Snacks, homework, driving, chaos. You were the Captain of the ship. You were needed every single minute.

But now, the ship has sailed. The schedule is empty. You sit on the sofa with a cup of tea, and a terrifying thought rises in your throat: "They don't need me anymore. So... what is the point of me?"

You feel like a laid-off employee. You feel like you have been "fired" from the only job that ever mattered to you. You look in the mirror and you don't see a woman. You see a stranger. You think: "I am just a mother with no children to mother."

This is not just sadness. This is a Loss of Self.

🏗️ The Scaffolding and the Temple

Here is the image that will turn your grief into pride today.

Imagine your child is a magnificent Temple. For 20 years, you were the Scaffolding. You surrounded them. You held them up. You took the wind and the rain so they could grow strong. You were essential. Without you, the temple would have collapsed.

But now, the Temple is finished. It is strong. It stands on its own foundation. When a building is finished, what happens to the scaffolding? It must be taken down.

This part feels painful. It feels like you are being dismantled piece by piece. It feels like "the end." But in the laws of construction, removing the scaffolding is not an act of destruction. It is the Proof of Success.

The scaffolding only comes down when the job is Done. If you stay up forever, you hide the beauty of the Temple you built. You are not "useless" now, Mama. You are simply Complete.

📜 The Teaching: "Sakkaya-Ditthi" (The Illusion of Identity)

The Buddha taught that our deepest suffering comes from Sakkaya-Ditthi (Identity View). This is when we take a temporary role and say: "This is who I am."

You told yourself: "I am a Mother." So when the "Mothering" stops, you feel like "I" have died.

But the Dhamma teaches Anatta (Not-Self). It means you are not the uniform you wear. You were a woman before you had children. You are a woman after they leave. The Role was just a season. It was not your Soul.

You are not a "retired mother." You are a traveler who has finished a heavy climb. You have reached the mountain peak. Do not mourn the climb. Look at the view.

🧘‍♀️ The Shift: From "Doing" to "Being"

Society tells you that your value is in what you DO for others. The Buddha teaches that your value is in what you ARE.

For 20 years, you practiced Dana (Giving). You gave your body, your time, your sleep. Now, life is inviting you to practice Bhavana (Cultivation of the Mind).

The silence in your house is not "emptiness." In the Dhamma, we call it Viveka (Detachment). It is not a void to be feared. It is a space to be filled with your own peace.

🌬️ Your Ritual for Today

When the silence feels too loud, do not turn on the TV to drown it out.

1. Sit in the empty room. Do not run from the ghost of the past. Sit with it.

2. Acknowledge the Success. Say: "The Temple is built. It is standing. My work was good."

3. Release the Scaffolding. Say: "I am not just a mother. I am the one who is aware. I am free to be just Me."

You did not lose your purpose. You fulfilled it. Now, you get to rest.

You never know who on your friends list is feeling invisible and lost in a quiet house today. 🕊️

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