Send them forth in freedom
'Send them forth in freedom"
Our final part of Rudolf Steiner's well-known quote: "Receive the child in reverence, educate them in love, and send them forth in freedom."
At first, it might seem like this means raising children barefoot on the earth, giving them endless choices, living a free-spirited life full of spontaneity and adventure. We might feel that giving this kind of freedom allows them to live out what we never could - or helps them avoid getting caught in the same fast-paced system that we ourselves are part of.
Perhaps we grew up living the life our parents or community wanted for us, feeling trapped, judged, or compared. Maybe we still carry hidden fears of not being enough, or follow familiar paths because we’re unsure what’s truly ours. So when we become parents, we want to give our children freedom.
But what is true freedom? Is this true freedom or is it a glimpse of rebellion against the external pressures we still hold within ourselves?
Rudolf Steiner spoke of sending our children forth in freedom as a way of supporting them to develop an inner moral compass - one that guides them toward truth, goodness, and love. My eight-year-old son recites this verse each morning at school, and to me, it beautifully captures the essence of this idea:
The Sun with loving light
Makes bright for me each day.
The soul of spirit power
Gives strength unto my limbs.
In the sunlight shining clear,
I reverence, O God,
The strength of humankind
Which though, so graciously,
Hast planted in my soul,
That I with all my might
May love to work and learn.
From thee come light and strength,
To thee rise love and thanks.
Within these words lies a reminder that light, strength, and love arise from within - a foundation we all seek in life, whether consciously or not. Cultivating these virtues can take a lifetime, and what a privilege it is to begin nurturing them in our children early on, offering them a strong grounding before they spread their wings. When the time comes for them to leave the nest, they may not have everything figured out, but they will carry within them a sense of what is right - and with that, all will be well.
True freedom isn’t doing whatever we want. It’s the ability to think, feel, and act from our own inner knowing - not from fear, imitation, or external pressure.
To send our children forth in freedom is to release them into their own becoming - to trust that their path will lead them toward their highest purpose and contribution to the world.
And perhaps the real work for us, as parents and teachers, is learning to discern when our actions are guided by inner truth - and when they’re still influenced by the external pressures or fears we’ve yet to let go of. It’s in this awareness that we’re reminded: one of the most valuable gifts we can offer as parents, teachers, and human beings is our own ongoing self-development - the willingness to take ourselves on.