I've gladly dedicated much of my adult life to serving children. To say this life's work has been meaningful is an unfair diminunization of something so big I'll never actually have words to quantify it appropriately. I've had innumerable moments of despair; confusion when faced with life-changing decisions to be made on behalf of vulnerable children; lack of confidence when hurting families relied on my experience to help them through tough times. I've had palpable experiences of the human inclination to do good, and moments when the harm done by thoughtless adults caused my blood to boil. To survive in non profit child-focused work, I've had to develop a cadre of axioms, words to live by, ways to talk myself off the ledge.
Here are a few of those helpful thoughts:
Trust yourself within the life you've been given
Always remember that things change
Children are born perfect and it's up to the adults to make sure children survive and thrive
Human beings have the capacity for greatness
Children are both fragile yet resilient
Knowledge is power
Love is not enough but it is the only place from which to start
I don't think any of these are original thoughts, I apologize to the original authors of each. I thank them for the insights.
In my recent work as a trauma-informed therapist I've come to know the importance of the mind/body connection. What previously sounded hokey to me, now holds daily meaning. It is a gift to be able to control our bodies though breath, awareness, and careful curating of what and how we choose to ingest, act, think, move. As I think about the many children and families I've been lucky to know in my work, my constant hope is for all of them to be able to live happy, full, health lives.
Knowing what I now am know (and I am still far from the finish line, just starting my journey in mind/body connection scientific awareness) I realize that those words I've lived by, still make sense. These ideas remain strong when considering the science-based research of Dr. Bessel Van Der Kolk or Dr. Francine Sharpiro. Both of these human nature visionaries studied the impact of thought on physical health. With this in mind, my old adages make even more sense now.
Love is not enough but it is the only place from which to start