“It takes a whole village to raise a child.” At the front line of that village, there are people who hold and care for dozens of children every day. They are day care and kindergarten directors. While they keep an eye on the children’s day, soothe parents’ worries, and tap a teacher’s shoulder, finding time to look inward for themselves can easily keep getting pushed back. In that way, a job of caregiving quietly empties the heart of the person who gives.
To fill that empty space, the Samsung Welfare Foundation has 마련 a special program. The foundation said on the 8th that it will hold a special lecture on inner communication meditation, a way to build inner strength, for directors of day care centers and kindergartens nationwide at the auditorium of the Samsung Children’s Education and Culture Center in Seoul on the 20th.
Hands that care for children, but no time to care for themselves
The event was designed to provide a time for rest and reflection for directors working in early childhood education settings. After last year’s meditation special lecture by Yonsei University Professor Kim Joo-hwan won deep resonance in the childcare sector, it returned as an encore program that was asking to be held again. It also means that there were not a few people who had set aside part of the day in one corner of their minds throughout the year. Faces that would be glad to hear that the program is being reopened come to mind.
Inner strength and resilience, Professor Kim Joo-hwan’s inner communication meditation
Opening the lecture is Professor Kim Joo-hwan, who will introduce meditation methods to strengthen resilience, with inner strength and inner communication meditation as the topics. The core message is that even in a day that keeps shifting, you can return to the center again—and that you can build that power like muscle. The more someone is responsible for reading a child’s emotions first, the more they need a way to talk with their own mind. The strength to care for others grows from the 마음 that can soothe oneself.
Placing meditation where a child’s brain grows
Next, Professor Kim Eun-joo of Gangnam Severance Hospital takes the podium with a presentation on children’s brain development and the power of meditation. Using the language of medicine, she explains how the brain in early childhood develops and what role meditation may be able to play in that process. It is a time to confirm again—through the lens of neuroscience—that the calm of the caregiver leads directly to a child’s growth. We know from experience that even one stable breathing rhythm from a teacher can change the atmosphere of the classroom.
Meditation laid over saxophone melodies, music that soothes the mind
The final session opens the mind in a slightly different way. It is an inner communication music meditation concert featuring Professor Kim Joo-hwan and saxophonist Brandon Choi. Over a mind that is guided and calmed by words and breathing, saxophone melodies flow, and the program continues with time to let go of thoughts and stay with sound. Participants are also given the opportunity to view a special exhibition at the Leeum Museum of Art. Between listening with their ears and looking with their eyes, the tension of the day slowly loosens.
A place to rest, offered for free
Applications open for free starting at 10:00 a.m. on the 8th on the Samsung Welfare Foundation website. On the day of the event, those who cannot come to the venue in person can join in real time through a Samsung Welfare Foundation YouTube live stream. For once, it may be fine to set down the hands that care for children and listen instead to your own breathing. Even for caregivers, care is needed.