In the quiet moments when Carly melts into my arms there is attunement, resonance, shared meaning, trust, respect, appreciation, curiosity, wonder, all moving, changing and so much more, embodied, nonverbal, silent. This silent, reciprocal attunement is the essence of bonded-attachment and that creates a safe-place for play.

This rude awakening came as quite a surprise, shocking really. The sun, moon, planets and every living thing does not revolve around me. Life is reciprocal. The more we naturally give to life, the more life nurtures and empowers us.

Dear friend and inspired mentor, Joseph Chilton Pearce speaks of parenting demanding this realization; giving over our self-as-center-ness to the joyous, though not always easy, service of others. We can look at the entire developmental process as a slow transition from me to we, from mine to ours or us.