"a boy in you about three years old"
the child who tips over the table
“A child tipping over a table, his mother rushing to stop him,” by José Guadalupe Posada, Mexico, ca. 1890–1910
One Source of Bad Information
by Robert Bly
There's a boy in you about three
years old who hasn't learned a thing for thirty
Thousand years. Sometime it's a girl.
This child had to make up its mind
How to save you from death. He said things like:
“Stay home. Avoid elevators. Eat only elk.”
You live with this child, but you don't know it.
You're in the office, yes, but live with this boy
At night. He's uninformed, but he does want
To save your life. And he has. Because of this boy
You survived a lot. He's got six big ideas.
Five don't work. Right now he's repeating them to you.
from Morning Poems, by Robert Bly, HarperCollins, 1997.
Creative Invitation
Hold a writing instrument in your non-dominant hand. Ask the child inside you to communicate what most needs to be said. Let your non-dominant hand make marks on paper. Be open to whatever arises from this communication.