I think we actually punish children out of their relationship

Hear the profound words of Susan Griffin, who speaks with the voice of one lamenting the loss of harmony: “I think we actually punish children out of their relationship with their bodies… we categorically separate mind and body, and emotion and intellect.” These words carry the sorrow of generations, revealing how society, in its ignorance, has divided what was once whole. For in the beginning, the human being was a single, united creation, where thought, feeling, and form flowed together as one sacred river.

Griffin warns that in our desire to shape and control, we have taught children to distrust their own bodies. Through shame, strict discipline, and false teachings, we drive them away from the natural wisdom of their flesh. The body, which should be a source of joy and truth, becomes to them a thing of confusion or guilt. In doing so, we not only punish their limbs but also wound their spirits, for to exile the body is to fracture the soul.

This division extends further, as she speaks of the forced separation of mind and body, emotion and intellect. Many have been taught to honor the intellect above all, to worship reason while denying the wisdom of feeling. Yet this false hierarchy blinds us, for neither thought nor passion alone can guide a life. True harmony comes when heart and mind, spirit and flesh, rise together like the twin wings of a bird. When one is cast aside, the other falters, and the being stumbles through life unbalanced.

The origin of Griffin’s reflection lies in the ancient human tragedy of forgetting. Long ago, philosophers and mystics understood the unity of the self — the dancer whose movement was prayer, the poet whose words were both thought and feeling. But over time, this sacred knowledge was lost, replaced by rigid rules and cold systems of control. Her words are a cry to remember what our ancestors once knew: that the human being cannot be divided without harm.

Let future generations take heed: teach children to embrace their bodies, to honor their emotions, and to unite these with their intellect. For when a person lives wholly, in harmony with themselves, they reflect the divine balance of the universe. In such unity, there is strength, freedom, and the fullest flowering of what it means to be human.