With a deep sense of relief, the Parents’ School’s experiential series of 10 sessions came to a close, with 17 parents and guardians participating. Over the course of these months, the participants did not learn “magic formulas” for becoming flawless, but they discovered something far more valuable: the power of being authentic, present, and connected with their children.
If one were to describe this ten-week journey, one might compare it to the ancient Japanese art of Kintsugi. When a precious ceramic vessel breaks, artisans in Japan do not throw it away. Instead, they gather the pieces and glue them back together using precious gold paste. The cracks are not hidden; they are highlighted with gold, making the vessel even more durable, unique, and beautiful, precisely because it carries its history.
In the daily life of a family, “fractures” are inevitable. It’s the tension of a tiring day, a raised voice, a disagreement between siblings, or the pressure of the holidays, which often magnifies difficulties. The members of our group sat in a circle and decided to look at these cracks without shame or guilt, learning to “repair” them with their own gold.
Through a continuous and fluid process, the group learned to replace the “autopilot” of their nerves with the “Sacred Pause”—those precious seconds of breathing that lie between tension and reaction. The members were trained not to judge their children’s failures, but to embrace them with the magic word “STILL” (gently saying: “You haven’t succeeded… yet, but I’m here so we can try together”), thereby raising children who aren’t afraid of making mistakes, but learn from them.
At the same time, the daily arguments and the demands of the children stopped to be treated as problems and became the “social gym” of the home. They left behind them the traditional role of the strict “Judge” who imposes punishments and became supportive “Mediators,” teaching their children the art a38> art of negotiation and of coexistence.
They have learned to apologize to their own children without a7> without excuses and without the defensive “but,” taking full responsibility for responsibility for their own feelings. This authentic reconciliation is the “golden” that heals the fear and the silence that often follows an argument, leaving the child to feel safe and loved.
At our last meeting, having cultivated a garden full of new skills, they realized that being a “leader” at home means offering the warmth of your embrace and the stability of your boundaries, like sturdy railings on a bridge that allow the child to walk freely.
The team was formed, but as a certain wise Zen story says: “The perfect circle is the one that leaves a a19> small gap at the end. Because if it closed hermetically, it would be a prison. The small gap is the door for for the light to enter. It is the space we need to grow”.
With this promise – to love their imperfections and to make room for for the light- the 17 parents renewed their appointment to a future unique journey.
The Coordinator of the Team
Andreas Meditskos
