The mind as a flame

The mind is not a vessel to be filled, But a fire to be kindled. Plutarch I needed a bright yellow card for an art project to do with the kids, and all I could find was a bright yellow index card from my 50th birthday cardfile, written on on one side. One side good. This is the message on the card, and this is my message and the "ani maamin", the "this I believe", of my therapy. I need to be daring enough with the group, the way I always am in individual sessions,to let surprise startle us, to let creativity emerge from the kids. Hee hee, the project is a chanukiah and the time is the festival of light. What happy synchronicity! What angels guide me in planning the group session, reminding me that flame, even the contained and controlled flame of a chanuka candle, has an element of the wild. These sparking, radiant kids who are so hard to contain, flourish when the containing channels their energies so they can bring a thought to completion. That's where teaching, a gentle fanning, comes in.