Illumination vs. Alienation

I am reminding myself that a psychic injury or wound can be transformed into a window, a gift. My feelings and fears of tribal abandonment can be a vehicle for understanding the human condition. Helping one kid at the school can help a whole community. Today I am thinking about illumination versus alienation. I am trying to cultivate a refusal to despair, to see the sparkles of snow and ice glittering on the overflowing piles of sidewalk garbage.

I am afraid of being abandoned, yet I already have been. So there's no need now to hide, just recognize, love, and have compassion for the other floating children. Be firm and clear because I care. Because I am. I'll park my anger at the door because it just fogs up my windshield. All of the guidelines in teaching apply to everything else in my life. Education handled deeply can be a spiritual and creative act.

I love to work with the broken children, the melt-down kids, and I get them to focus and find their strength. They all have strength and gifts, with a thick layer of fear on top. I know, because I do too. I like to dig for gold and then hand it to them. Maybe we all can be wounded healers.