I am blessed to have Mom and Dad.

The musician and philosopher of the heart, Kevin Eubanks, once spoke a truth so simple yet so eternal that it echoes through the generations: “I am blessed to have Mom and Dad.” In these few humble words lies the vast gratitude of a soul aware of its roots, a spirit that recognizes the sacred power of family, and a heart that understands the quiet, sustaining love that shapes a life. For while the world often rushes toward ambition and acclaim, Eubanks pauses to honor the source of all greatness—the hands that raised him, the voices that guided him, and the love that formed his strength.

The origin of this quote comes not from grandeur, but from gratitude. Kevin Eubanks, celebrated as a master guitarist and bandleader, has stood on great stages and heard the applause of countless crowds. Yet, like the wise of every age, he knows that fame and fortune are fleeting winds compared to the enduring foundation laid by one’s parents. To say “I am blessed to have Mom and Dad” is to acknowledge the two pillars of creation in every human story—the mother who nurtures and the father who provides, the guardians whose love becomes the first music to which the heart learns to beat. It is the recognition that our first and greatest teachers are those who teach us not with books, but with example, sacrifice, and affection.

To be “blessed” in this sense is to have received a sacred inheritance—one not measured in wealth, but in character. The mother, with her tenderness, teaches compassion; the father, with his strength, teaches endurance. Together, they form the moral compass that guides the child through life’s storms. Eubanks, who found harmony through music, understood that the harmony of a soul begins in the harmony of a home. The family is the first symphony, and the parents its conductors. When he expresses gratitude for his mom and dad, he honors not only his personal past but the eternal truth that the love of parents is the first rhythm from which all other melodies flow.

Throughout history, this truth has revealed itself in the lives of the great. Consider the example of Alexander the Great, whose conquests reshaped the world, yet who never ceased to speak of his teacher and father, King Philip, and the wisdom of his mother, Olympias. Or recall George Washington, who, though fatherless from a young age, cherished the strength and guidance of his mother, Mary Ball Washington, calling her “the foundation of all my virtues.” In each of these lives, as in Kevin Eubanks’s reflection, we see the power of parental love—not merely as nurture, but as destiny itself. Those who are raised in love learn to give love; those grounded in wisdom grow to become wise.

Yet this quote does more than praise the fortunate—it gently reminds those who still have parents to cherish them while they live. Too often, gratitude is spoken only at funerals, when words arrive too late to reach the ears they were meant for. Eubanks teaches us the nobility of acknowledging love in the present, of saying “I am blessed” not as an afterthought, but as a daily prayer. For to recognize one’s blessings is to multiply them; to express gratitude is to live in the light of abundance rather than the shadow of want.

And for those who did not know such blessings—whose parents were absent, harsh, or broken—this truth still carries meaning. It reminds us to seek and become what we lacked. If life denied you a nurturing mother or a steadfast father, then let your heart become both to others. The cycle of love does not end in pain—it can be renewed through compassion. The ancient sages taught that family is not only of blood, but of spirit, and that to give what one never received is the highest form of healing.

The lesson of Kevin Eubanks’s words is thus twofold: to those who have parents who loved them, give thanks and honor them while there is still time; and to those who do not, take up the sacred task of love yourself. Build the world that you wished had been built for you. For the blessing of “Mom and Dad” is not merely a private treasure—it is a reminder that all love begins somewhere, and that gratitude keeps that love alive across generations.

So remember, as Kevin Eubanks reminds us in his gentle humility: to say “I am blessed to have Mom and Dad” is to bow before the mystery of origin, to honor the hands that shaped your beginning. Do not forget them in your triumphs; speak of them in your joy. For in a world ever chasing more, gratitude is the soul’s return to home. And when you honor your beginnings, you ensure that your life, like a song, ends where it began—in love.