As we approach Mother’s Day—a moment often filled with warm gestures, breakfast in bed, and tiny handmade gifts—I found myself pausing for something deeper this year. I recently watched the documentary SEEN, and it truly stirred something inside me. It’s a powerful and healing film that delves into self-love, childhood emotional wounds, and the journey toward being fully seen and accepted—for who we are, and who we once were.
The film explores how healing our own childhood wounds can deeply transform the way we parent and affect how our children develop. It focuses on the moment parents begin to recognise the emotional patterns and coping mechanisms they developed as children—and how those patterns still show up today in their own families. It offers powerful insights into how unresolved childhood trauma impacts adult life, and how to begin reclaiming your own emotional narrative.
I grew up with a toxic relationship with my father. For years, I carried the pain of feeling unloved, unseen, and emotionally unsafe. I believed I had left those feelings behind—until I became a parent. Then, in moments of stress or conflict with my children, I began to notice a pattern: emotional reactions that felt outsized, moments where I felt overwhelmed and helpless…
This is why I’ve been doing the hard inner work for several years now—reading, reflecting, seeking support. It wasn’t until I began connecting those present-day triggers to my original family that true healing started. SEEN reminded me how essential it is to understand those connections. Without that awareness, we remain stuck in reactive patterns. But once we see the link between the child we were and the parent we are becoming, we can begin to change.
One of the most transformative practices I’ve embraced is reconnecting with my inner child—the younger “me” who still lives inside. I try to notice her, talk to her, even picture myself hugging her. When I can observe her pain with compassion rather than judgment, I find space to soothe and support her in a way I never received as a child.
This work isn’t easy. Healing requires us to sit with discomfort, to face parts of ourselves we’ve learned to avoid. But it’s worth it. Because when we heal ourselves, we free our children from carrying our pain forward. We start to give them the dream childhood we once wished for ourselves.
This Mother’s Day, I want to honour all the mothers doing this quiet, courageous work. If you’ve been carrying similar feelings, I gently encourage you to watch SEEN. Give yourself that gift. You matter. Your story matters. And you deserve to feel truly seen.
Wishing you a meaningful and love-filled Mother’s Day,
Yous, Luna 💐❤️
2025