Our family is the container, the safe space in which young souls are cultivated. They grow in this atmosphere, with the mixture of necessary elements. When they know themselves well enough, they step outside the family, into the strong wind of their own life.
I believe there is one central task that each parent is given with the birth of his or her child. This is to carry for the child, until he can carry for himself, the fundamental human question, “Who am I?” When we look into our beloved child’s face, we can look down the long corridor of his life, inquiring who the man will be. As parents, we certainly will see particular characteristics, tendencies, in our child. We will offer much love and effort in guiding these inclinations in the right direction. But this work must be done in secret, veiled from the child. Our goal is to have the young adult step into this “self-making” with freedom. We foster freedom by holding open the question, “Who are you?” The container of the family is the vessel in which we carry this question
Tag Archives: Stories
Valentine’s Day
Valentine’s Day is always loved by the children, but especially so this year. I have been telling the children “table stories”, stories they ask for while we are all at the big snack table. A few days before Valentine’s Day, I told them the story of making heart-shaped waffles for my boys, now grown men, on Saturday mornings. I showed them the heart shaped waffle iron, and they of course responded, “And will you make them for us?” Up until the wee hours the night before, making mountains of waffles, I was was tired but happy on Valentine’s morning. The children arrived, and with their parents help, they delivered the lovely hand-made Valentines to their friends’ bright bags. The great excitement was eating the heart shaped waffles with fresh strawberry syrup!
The table story I told the children today is this: Each Valentine’s Day, I wait eagerly for my gift from Mother Earth. Usually, within a day or two, I hear the first call of the mourning dove, who returns to my woods from her long migration. Today we will listen carefully, as we play in the woods.
Welcome friends! – A Story
Welcome friends! 
This is the perfect time of year to begin a new journey together. Perhaps springtime seems more likely, with its riot of color and soft winds. But let me tell you a story. (And may our time together be filled with stories. Our joined stories help us not only know who we are, but also help us create who we will become)
