I was in the midst of a group work session with young humans I had never met before.
The hostel worker had encouraged a group of late teens to gather in this off-site location.
I took it gently.
I introduced myself with Blob Tree type slides. + Short clips from Hollywood movies full of feeling.
I told them of my damaged life - in little clips.
Vulnerability must always be led from the front if we want to get anywhere in terms of emotional growth & development.
My aim was to facilitate them growing & developing - from their inside - out.
I sometimes break into a sob when I am sharing some personal & emotional matters of my own. I am not disrespected for that. I think everyone can identify .............. inside - coming out.
As time past - the climate of trust developed - always essential if we are going anywhere developmentally.
This stuff is not about educating the mind but education for the heart - the soul - the heart of our being = BECOMING.
These beautiful young humans had all experienced tough periods of their lives.
Family dysfunction.
Encounters with the law.
Impersonal services from Social Services.
'Care' which so often has nor been.
A home in a hostel is not an aim in life.
It is survival ................
YET my years of experiences of living & working in them
(I count four in total on my fingers)
has planted reality in my soul.
I eventually get them to talk about feeling in terms of how the Blob Tree Tools are revealing feelings.
These magical tools communicate boldly through the primary communication methods::
Facial expression
Body language.
Everyone can read this communication if we actually SEE them,
learn to look for them and READ them.
AND practice - which was happening in front of me.
These are non threatening activities because we are reading the 'full of expression' Blobs, which stay still while we take our time to read/study.
Then little movies mean we practice reading faces & non-verbal communication as humans talk & move around on film.
Powerful stuff.
The clips I use, and the feelings being exposed, can then be transposed into to their lives/our lives.
Eventually there comes a time when we share our own experiences & the feeling experienced - and often still feel thereafter.
Powerful sharing in a climate of trust.
No-one knocking down another.
No-one laughing to mask their inner feelings and their struggling articulation of them.
It is an experience we are having together.
Sharing experiences.
Sharing the feelings from them - then the scars - then the wounds that still exist in some cases.
There is an experiential wind-down at the end.
We examine/own the experiences together.
And then I encourage everyone to write ................
"Write anything" I say ...... because writing can summarize a million words.
"This was the first I heard young men talk about emotions. I feel opened up"
Wondrous words.
Highlighting a stand-out for her.
Maybe the emotion impacting the flow of her words - maybe displaying her poor education which I also can't help but display.
I never met them again - ever.
I will never forget them.
I believe they will remember that couple of hours we had together - for ever.
BHP
