Know Thyself

“Faith is,knowing who you are, knowing where you come from, knowing where you’re going and knowing how you are going to get there. And that is through a power greater than you alone -Kenacus Littlefish Durant

Ken, quoted above, was a good friend, elder and teacher of mine. His description of faith is one of my favorite things to ponder. The wisdom of his definition unfolding in new levels and ways each time I focus my attention on this concept. Faith, to him, is not something taken lightly, nor is it blind. In fact, it is clear sighted and rooted in something real and true and beautiful… It starts with the individual (You!). Then brings that individual into the present moment (who you are). From there, faith depends on what came before, the past (where you come from). Faith then reaches into the future (where you are going) with guidance from the source of all things (insert word of choice for a higher power/god here) being that which makes any of it possible in the first place.

Faith in a preschool setting is much the same. The lessons are everywhere. The students are the teachers in so many ways. My faith in who I am lays a foundation for the children to be awake and alive in themselves. Knowing who I am, where I come from, where I am going and how I am going to get there, is what creates the container for the children to learn, play and grow at my school. 

“Know thyself” is the first of three maxims inscribed in the pronaos of the Temple of Apollo at Delphi. For a small child, self knowledge has not yet awakened. The first of the senses to come alive is the sense of “we"--of life itself being in relationship. Newborn and mother are still one. In this way, childhood development is the unfolding of a slow separation.  Each year of development age 0-7 a child is moving from a state of we toward an independent, “I”. 

Further, children operate in a more dream-like or theta brainwave space. This is a kind of mental reality an adult will find when they are relaxed and daydreaming, in meditation or taking psychedelics. In this place, there is no criticism, ideas flow with ease. This is a land of imagination and imitation. Indeed, the Waldorf early childhood educator is taught to meet the children in the land of dreams. We create a safe and beautiful environment for the children. Rather than barking orders, we sing songs to indicate the next step in our daily rhythm. We keep the rhythm the same day to day, week to week and introduce songs and stories that correspond to the seasons to create a daily reality in which the children can settle into what they do best, imitate, imagine and play. Theta brainwave state is the key to their innocence and faith in themselves because they are in a place of being in oneness with all of creation. They are learning through their experiences,  images and imitation.  These are taken into their inner world and how they integrate these is the foundation of “self.” Another way of saying this is that the experiences of early childhood build the subconscious from which an adult relates to life itself.  

Rudloph Steiner said,  “Our highest endeavor must be to develop free human beings who are able of themselves to impart purpose and direction to their lives. The need for imagination, a sense of truth, and a feeling of responsibility—these three forces are the very nerve of education.”As adults in the presence of young children, It is we who need to heed the maxim at Delfi, and the wisdom of my friend Ken. We are called to know who we are, where we come from, where we are going and how we are going to get there. This is the foundation of imparting purpose and direction in one’s own life. As adults in the presence of dreamy babes who imitate, imagine and integrate the reality around them without a filter, our example is everything. 

My job as a preschool teacher is to prepare children for life. Not by imposing a curriculum on them, but by creating a safe, beautiful and rhythmic environment in which their nervous systems come into rhythm with the earth, the day, the seasons and their friends at school. This is how we create grounded humans who care about this creation. This is how we lay a foundation for our children to thrive in relationship with their own selves, each other and the earth.