What would our lives be like if we paid as much attention to the cleanliness and health of our inner lives and that of our children as we do to our bodies and bank accounts? What if Parent and even Teacher education included learning how to protect and nourish a child’s inner reality? Inner reality includes attention, self-talk, imagination and intuition. Our relationship with ourselves is a foundation for mental health and the ability to function in a healthy way in any other relationships in family or work situations.
In the young child, that very subtle aspect of their Human Self needs to be seen, acknowledged and reflected in the eyes and felt in the hearts of the people around them. For some of us, our parents were out of touch enough with their own Essence, that it might be seen and mirrored only by random others in our lives – a grandparent, a special teacher, perhaps the family doctor. As long as there is at least occasional glimpses this Essential Self can stay alive knowing that ‘it exists’. The more recognition and nourishment this Self receives, the more it can thrive. It is such a deeply foundational aspect of being Human that our whole sense of identity, including inner resilience depends on its health.