By Judi Remigio, Parent and Child Teacher
As the adults in our children's lives, we both help them "find their thread" and hold on to their humanity. We also are the "social response" that will one day be their own social response. In Early Childhood, we say, our voice becomes their 'inner voice'.
One of the ways that we inspire our children to say, "I will stay here" is by 'touching' or 'moving' them. Only one human being can do this for another, and within this relationship, the true human being is the one who responds.
If something moves or touches us, we can respond. If we can hear a word, we can say a word. That the human being can be affected is our most important characteristic.
The heart and the skin are the symbols of the huge receptivity and openness of the human being. Indifference and coldness are the equivalent of "not-human". Warmth is a most valued quality.
We are not an empty vessel; we can feel, we are permeable, open and receptive. To feel characterizes all living beings. A transformative feeling can open a space for change.
The human capacity to feel is what Rudolf Steiner called "soul developed"; imagine a curve or line of inflexion back to itself. This gives us the capacity to be separated from the world, and the richness to feel the world. This separation is what allows us to be in actual relationship with each other. We feel, we separate, we go inward to our own selves, "the other is different than me, therefore I relate to them". We feel that we feel!
Clarity and warmth come with feeling that we feel (this all happens in time, closer to later childhood and early adolescence).
We have a lot to offer each other and our children and students.
Lucky us!!
