You are a loving person, and you love kids. But what is love, exactly, by your definition? Have you ever really thought about it? Is love simply some warm "fuzzy" that you've been taught to express with three little words? Or is it much more than that? And how would you describe it? Have you explored any of the beliefs, the rote script comments, the auto-responses, the unquestioned systems, all the "that's just the way it is" programs, the generational patterns, the inconsistent behaviors that send mixed messages, and the copy-and-paste words and attitudes that you inadvertently share with kids? And have you intentionally worked to raise the frequency of your own lovelight, revealing and healing any parts of you that may affect the energy, and thus, the growth, brilliance and resilience of children in your care? Come. Let's explore and train our hearts to see through the lens of love to make the necessary adjustments to our programming. Let's shine the light on and disrupt the old ways of thinking and behaving that have created the undesirable, inequitable energies of the collective consciousness and the current systems. With that light, we can heal, change, grow and create a brighter, new environment for the kids, with the kids, preserving and maintaining the strength of our inherent lovelights.
About the Author: Darlene Westhelle has been an early childhood educator for many years. She is also a mom, a grandmother and a certified holistic health coach. Although Darlene had made it her mission early on in her teaching career to work toward preserving the infectious, glowing light in children, a breast cancer journey prompted her to observe with even greater clarity how the subtle messages-the rote, programmed, unquestioned scripts and the learned patterns that she, and others, receive and perpetuate with kids-may contribute to dimming that vibrant light over time. Engaging in and learning about clean eating, yoga, metaphysics, remote energy healing, and other spiritual tools from various teachers seemed to have lifted a veil from her eyes as she changed the energy that she fed her own body. Through her humble self-reflection, anecdotal examples, questions and imperfections, Darlene provokes other mentors of children to bring forth their own true light by also examining the deep meaning of love and how their programming sometimes opposes it in daily interactions. That thought process will inevitably lead to revelations that allow for the refutation of the lies we have been told about ourselves, the adjustment of perceptions to see the whole picture, and the ability to support children so that our combined brilliance can create positive change in the world.