In 2009 I had the chance to spend the morning at a conference featuring Rahima Baldwin. Talk about a guide! I had been reading You Are Your Child’s First Teacher since I was a nanny and her book about midwifery and homebirth called Special Delivery was read and read and read during all my pregnancies. She was funny and irreverent and not at all the stuffy, correct Waldorf expert you might expect. She said she had made every mistake in the book with her own children…and that’s why she had written You Are Your Child’s First Teacher!
Two things she said that morning lodged right in my heart, and I’ve been thinking about them ever since. Here’s the first one!
Reverence and gratitude form the basis of the spiritual life.
It’s knowing that you are a small part of bigger rhythms and being thankful for your place. It’s looking for the traces of God in your day. It’s keeping your eyes open to the wonder of the everyday.
And really, the wonder project is about noticing beauty and letting it heal you. But it’s also a part of this larger motion of the spirit. And it’s the real work we have before us when we teach our children.
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very sweet picture…gratitude also that you are ours…
Hi Kort,
I loved _You Are Your Child’s First Teacher_. I read it when my two oldest were toddlers . . . and even with such wonderful guidance, I’ve still made a lot of mistakes!
Do you have two black kittens??? Amy and I are sitting here smiling and thinking that that is something to be really grateful about. ♥
I’m not all surprised that you’ve read and loved Rahima!
We were caring for FOUR foster kittens from the animal shelter who were too tiny to be adopted. We had them for Aug/Sept. We kept one! Totally unplanned. But seeing how much my kids loved her and how willing they were to care for her and how sweet she was, it shouldn’t be a surprise! Her name is Socks…you can see her reading about kittens in this post: http://www.kortneygarrison.com/2016/10/17/the-wonder-project-read-a-book/