He Said This For Mothers

"To train the mind, you must exercise the patience and determination it takes to
shape that steel." -- Dalai Lama

Yes, Mr Lama definitely had MOTHERS in mind when he said this. When you become a Mother, who you were doesn't disappear, but she still needs to be trained to think differently of herself and those around her. She has to redefine her role, rearrange her priorities, develop her thoughts on how she wants to continue to live life and what examples she wants to live by in order to teach her children. She has to solidify her strengths and if she can't already, learn to stand up and defend herself as well as her children. She has to discover what her own beliefs in regard to life and spirituality and morality, so that she has a solid, steel base to teach her children how to get through life.

Children themselves are like steel... maleable while young, but strong when taught well through example and the loving words and arms of Mother. To shape our children and weather the rough times, Mothers need patience and determination. Mothers need to be secure in their abilities as a Mother, which aids the patience and determination to teach and love and support our children in their endeavors. And like steel, while it's a strong metal and unbending in it's strength, can still be bent under certain circumstances to help relieve the unexpected stresses that may occur, such as when our children "stray" from what we've taught them. Even when Mother is standing straight as steel, she still supports her children even when their own determination and strength leads them on a different path and set of beliefs. We shape the steel of our own minds so that we stay sane, but we also shape the steel of our children's minds so that they grow up strong and ready for life, ready to stand on their own.

Steel. The strongest metal known, yet still able to be shaped by human hands.