Our words are so important

Our words, we are often told, are so important for they carry an abundance of either good, bad or ugly. How often we hear this, though they fall on deaf ears most of the time. We become too busy, too tired, too stressed, too too too…to listen to our own words and especially the words of those in our world. However as Waldorf teachers we dedicate our heart and soul to seven years with one class and therefore our task and challenge each day is to hear and acknowledge what is being said by the children in our world. How do we do this? How do we not only hear but also consciously listen? And then, the biggest question, how do we respond?
Last year I embarked on a journey where I completed a yoga teacher training course and through this experience I was again reminded of how important our words are as well as the impact they have on those around us. The art of listening to the outside voice as well as the inner voice becomes something that we work with each day. The body becomes a tool that we use to carry the light that lives within us. When we are presented with questions that we term ‘uncomfortable’ or ‘uneasy’ or ‘inappropriate’ perhaps it is not actually the question but ourselves who are ‘uncomfortable’ ‘uneasy’ and ‘inappropriate?? Could we go as far as to say that that the questions children bring us are really often things we need to grapple with within ourselves instead of silencing them because WE feel awkward?
In Class 5 our community is made up of everything open and everything honest. Any question is allowed to be asked and this has been so since Class 1. I have observed with joy how the questions have ‘grown’ as the children have grown. When children, ask questions of a private nature and the changes they observe in their developing bodies I ask myself why it is that we get SO uncomfortable with certain questions! For these are merely questions about the growing and developing body; mind and soul.
In my class these questions are answered and discussed and it is as comfortable as if we were discussing Ancient Egypt or Decimals! The sigh of satisfaction that is released when a question is answered makes me realise that our children indeed come with all they need to know! It is us who need to find the courage to allow them to unlock what lives inside them.
Love and Blessings
Namaste
Joy Dreyer
Class 5 Teacher