Radiant Children

The child awakens to the universe,
The mind of the child to a world of wonder,
Imagination to a world of beauty,
Emotions to a world of intimacy
It takes a universe to make a child
Both in outer form and inner spirit,
It takes a universe to educate a child;
It takes a universe to fulfill a child.

And the first obligation of any generation to its children
Is to bring these two together
So that the child is fulfilled in the universe
And the universe is fulfilled in the child
While the stars ring out in the Heavens.
By Thomas Berry

This is the essence of the radiant child. Belonging to both heaven and earth, the radiant child dances into our lives as a bridge between dark and light, body and spirit, ego and Self, the individual and God. The radiant child spans and sings this wholeness in every fiber. We would all be wise to listen. Even better to sing and dance along. Dr. Thomas Armstrong, The Radiant Child

My son was such a bright little boy; he delighted in being. He drew people around him with his joy and enthusiasms, a favorite with both adults and children. Over the years, that brightness dimmed and was lost to a deep place inside him. Only recently, with a desperate cry for help, has he begun the journey of rediscovering his radiance.

Through cultural assimilation, our children loose their radiance and this is particularly acute for our labeled children. Our job is to rediscover within ourselves our own radiance so we can build a world in which children’s divine inner flame will always shine brightly.

More radiant than the Sun
Purer than the snow
Subtler than the ether
Is the Self,
The Spirit within my Heart
I Am that Self
That Self Am I
(source unknown)