Nurture
“We are not the survival of the fittest, we are the survival of the nurtured.” - Louis Cozolino
Nurture comes from the French word to feed or nourish.
When we actively, intentionally and consciously practice connection, we nurture our nature. Our collective, relational, shared nature. It’s no longer “nature versus nature,” but BOTH nature AND nurture.
When we nurture each other, we nourish each other.
When we nurture our babies, our toddlers, our young kids, our adolescents in the varying degrees in which they need us, we nourish them... promote their health, wellbeing and even their longevity.
When we nurture our students, we enhance learning.
When we nurture ourselves, nourishing our spirits, our minds, bodies, we tend to our selves right down to our cells.
Nurturing creates safety and belonging in relationship. While we are wounded in relationship, we can heal in relationship too. We don’t always heal in the same relationship where the wound originated, but studies show that, through attuned, reliable emotional connection, we can grow the front of the brain which helps us cultivate empathy, trust, intuition, self-regulation, even morality.
Nurturing and nourishing. Relational food.
Practicing sensitive and responsive communication, mindfulness and compassion (including self-compassion) changes the nervous system, our chemistry and circuitry from an anxious, vigilant state to a calmer, more open, receptive and connected state.
Nurturing is nourishment for the heart, mind, brain, body. It nurtures wellbeing and health. Connection with self and others. Perspective, hope, and trust.
- Lu Hanessian Parent2ParentU: Raising the Future
