Love
The chinese character for Love is ai. I am taken by its essence more than any other. I didn’t know this, but each Chinese character has its own way of being formed. It’s known as the ‘stroke order’ and it’s deemed crucial that this sequence be followed in order to honour the harmonious movement visible in nature.
Every character ‘takes’ or moves from the first brush stroke. Therefore, love begins with the strokes for ‘breath’ (top), then moves to the ‘heart’ (center), and closes with ‘graceful movement’ (bottom). When I think about it, this is exactly the beauty that unfolds in the classroom each year.
Feeding With Love
Creating a loving space, a classroom where hugs and personal attention abound, where honour and humility serve, where ego has no place…it is like that first stroke:
Breath…allowing the children to reach their highest potential each moment they are in our care. Can we trust that each child, with humble guidance, will find their way to their own uniqueness? We must. Let them breathe deeply and fully. There is no pushing, there is no expectation, only that of each child’s own perfect unfolding…like a crystal in a saturated solution: unique and awe-inspiring.
Heart …when we, as teachers and parents, carry this deep level of trust, all hearts are nourished. This is all that our children want – for themselves and for us. They don’t want us to worry, or fear, or anger. They want us to love and trust in their path. They know.
When the heart is full, the next stroke can unfold.
Graceful movement…children who are loved in a way that feeds them show this so eloquently as they move themselves in their environment over time. They have a deep knowing of our trust, our love, and our commitment to their individuality. The fullness of their hearts spills out into their community of peers, into the very essence of their work, and the compassion and care they hold for everything around them.
I see love as inspiring. It breathes life into the heart, and brings grace to the body. Let’s allow children to feel ‘full’ enough that they can gift their abundance to others around them. Let’s inspire them, and be inspired, with love.
empoweringchildren 