By Elaine Dickens, MA, RP | Live Inspired Wellness

The Gift of an Empty Box: A Mother's Day Reflection on Self-Compassion

Mother’s Day can stir up a thousand emotions—gratitude, grief, pride, exhaustion, and sometimes, quiet dread. It's a day that shines a spotlight on expectations—both the ones we carry and the ones placed on us. For many, it’s a time of celebration. But for others, it’s complicated.

In the past, I invited a client (shared with permission) to do something different. Instead of buying flowers or organizing brunch, I asked her to gift herself an empty box. A box of self-compassion. A gift from me to her.

It wasn’t meant to be symbolic fluff. It was a real container. Something tangible she could hold onto as an emotionally charged event approached. And a reminder that no matter what happened externally, she had permission to fill that box with whatever she needed.

Maybe it would hold her anger. Or her grief. Her laughter. Her silence. Her unmet expectations. Her longing for a different kind of connection. Her relief. Her guilt. Her joy. Her confusion. All of it was welcome.

The box became a practice of radical self-kindness:
A space to pause.
To breathe.
To not perform.
To not push through.
To not fake okay-ness for the sake of others.

Self-compassion isn’t always gentle. Sometimes it’s fierce. Sometimes it’s setting boundaries, or saying “no” to one more family dinner, or giving yourself the grace to show up imperfectly.

Mother’s Day can be beautiful, but it can also be a mirror. And for many, that mirror reflects losses, longing, resentment, or roles they didn’t choose.

So if this day feels heavy, weird, lonely, or just… a lot—you’re not doing it wrong.

You're human.

And maybe this year, you gift yourself the same thing she did:
An empty box.
A vessel for softness.
A place to land.

Because you don’t need to earn rest, care, or love: Especially from yourself.

Wishing you gentleness, however you mother, were mothered, or choose not to be.
Happy (complicated) Mother’s Day.

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Photo by eskay lim on Unsplash

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