Clipping #63 The FAMILY

The FAMILY is changing but it is still the foundation for human society. Virginia Satir has been considered the “Mother of Family Therapy.” She said, “To change the world is to change the family.”[1] She said that the family is the context in which people develop. She found four aspects of family life to be important.

1. Self-Worth: the feelings and ideas that one has about oneself.

2. Communication: the ways people use to work out meaning with one another.

3. Family System: the rules people use for how they should feel and act.

4. Link to Society: the way people relate to other people and institutions outside the family.

Says Satir: Parents empower more than boss. Integrity, honesty, responsibility, love, compassion, and competence — flow easily from people whose self-esteem is high. Parents teach in the toughest school in the world — The School for Making People. You are the board of education, the principal, the classroom teacher, and the janitor … It is now clear to me that the family is a microcosm of the world. Your responses to the events of life are more important than the events themselves.

· To what extent do you agree with what Satir says about the family?

· To what extent do you think that God is needed in nurturing families?

· In your family experience what made/makes it good for you?

· Do you see those things present in most families today?

I invite you to visit the website alignmentnetwork.org to learn about a new and engaging pathway for spiritual discovery.

Irving Stubbs — www.alignmentnetwork.org.

[1] Virginia Satir, The New Peoplemaking, Science and Behavior Books, Inc., Mountain View, CA.