Childhood is sacred

We are increasingly aware of the importance of the psycho-emotional environment of early childhood. We already know that this is the structure of our own foundations. If our own childhood is damaged, how do we take care of the new generations? By doing a biographical review of our childhoods. It is important to bear in mind that each one of us takes time to mature and that each one’s process is unique, since not all of us will follow the same paths, I am writing to you about my own. Currently my personal work is to continue reviewing my limiting beliefs and to take charge of my decisions without blaming external factors for the life I have today. It also means not demanding more from myself than what I am capable of accomplishing at this moment. This goes together with continuing to work on my internal dialogue so that it is more loving and respectful of my own pace and so that I can be there for other people in a more conscious way. We have the power of our own life and the decisions we make today are the ones that will build our tomorrow, so it is important to know where we are right now and that there is still time to change and make a new decision.

I am grateful for all the training I have been able to receive over the years, which has helped me to continue maturing and questioning the education I come from and the one I want to pursue. In my personal opinion, I would recommend education and training that includes some self-inquiry work with a professional. I am currently doing Gestalt Theatre Therapy at the Diego Marin’s school in Murcia (Spain) and I am enrolled in Laura Gutman’s School of Human Biography, although any book of hers is a good start to deepen what I am trying to share with you, I assure you that these readings are a turning point on an internal level.

I believe that, as humanity, we must continue to dig into our childhood wounds to reconnect with the essence of who we really are and what we are here to do in this world. For me, freedom and responsibility have a lot to do with what I am saying in these paragraphs.

We have violence so automated, in one way or another, that we are not even aware of when we exercise it or receive it, and we go through life damaging our vital pulse and our raison d’être. When we are children, we come into the world immature and dependent on our caregivers and also open to receive the flow of life, and in most cases that I observe, we ask children to over-adapt to our needs and pace, a pace that in most cases we ourselves are not capable of sustaining. With this, at an early age we learn that listening to our needs does not seem to be a priority and time after time, we put them on the back burner and we reach adulthood doing the same with our children, our pupils etc. without stopping for a second to question what we are doing or reviewing our own pain.

I invite you to work with children on their qualities, to help them get to know themselves, to experience and play, so that when they become adults, they can contribute to society from a place of joy, doing the things they love the most, and offering their gifts, their laughter, playfulness, and their capacity of sharing with others.

We cannot forget that we are social beings and due to our own wounds and difficulties on an interpersonal and intrapersonal level, we isolate ourselves out of fear. The “other” brings us many truths and invites us to review ourselves again and again, letting us be touched by our childhood pain and making our inner child afraid. Therefore, it is important that our adult-self pick us up and invite us to grow, and, together with others, teach us who we are in essence. To grow up we need a whole community and this brings us closer to greater health, and for this we have to be attentive and review the society in which we want to live. I advocate prioritizing human warmth and the quality of relationships and leaving aside the uncontrolled consumerism that leads us towards a lifestyle that is far away from ourselves.

In conclusion, I would like to recall the title of the article, to give me the opportunity to recommend the book “Infancia, la edad sagrada” (in english: “Childhood, the sacred age”) by Evânia Reichert. With this recommendation, I invite you to go deeper into children’s self-regulation, which also facilitates us in our own revision. Childhood is one of life’s greatest gifts, because it is a true teacher of what it means to live, so for me childhood is sacred.