The Wisdom of the Natural World
In our community at the Kelowna Waldorf School
The wisdom of the natural world has always and continues to imbue us through its rhythms that many cultures celebrate throughout the year. Some have lost touch with the inner strength that can be gained from engaging with Mother Nature’s transitions. Here at Kelowna Waldorf School we continue to respect Mother Earth’s rhythms and the Cosmos in which a connection points to the human form. The present rhythmical system of the Human Being is the real man of the Earth.
Waldorf education understands that each season has a mood to share; from the joyful rebirth of green in spring, to the energy of summer and purposeful work that autumn harvest brings, to the reflective quiet of winter. In Kelowna, we are blessed to experience each season. Even the melancholy that can be felt in March, after a long winter, is a lesson for the soul. For each human life is bound to meet with melancholy. When we allow these moods to be felt in our connection with nature, we can see them as universal or cosmic experiences. The knowledge that spring will return allows us to have faith and trust, and know that this faith and trust can return to us during more personal struggles. Connecting to the natural world through nature walks, farming, hiking, harvest, etc… allows us to experience a grounding in space and time providing a strong sense of security.
Nature stories can bring to life the shifting moods of the seasons and let them feed the imaginations of our children. These types of stories nurtured the imaginations and moral sensibilities of young children for hundreds of generations before books, television and computers were available. These metaphors, which live in the imagination in childhood, can later become a source of wisdom, giving strength long after childhood has been left behind.
Kassandra says "In Class One at KWS we are closely connected to Mother Earth’s crystal kingdom and how our cosmic friends help in clearing and charging the crystal kingdom. Here is a picture of two of our Class One children cleansing, and charging our crystal friends with the help of Mother Earth, the Cosmos and sound vibration of our class tuning fork!"
“I have come to the frightening conclusion that I am the decisive element.
It is my personal approach that creates the climate.
It is my daily mood that makes the weather.
I possess tremendous power to make life miserable or joyous.
I can be a tool of torture or an instrument of inspiration;
I can humiliate or humor, hurt or heal.
In all situations, it is my response that decides
Whether a crisis is escalated or de-escalated,
And a person is humanized or de-humanized.
If we treat people as they are, we make them worse.
If we treat people as they ought to be, we help them become
What they are capable of becoming.”
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
