SALT in the Family

[Marlou]

** Francais en bas **

During conversations last week with facilitators from many different contexts and countries it became clear again: SALT as a way of thinking and a way of working (a way of being?) is a nice and natural play between self - family and community. I know many of us who use SALT in our work also apply in our families.

This is an open invitation to all of us who applied SALT in our family, or who accompanied other families using SALT. What are we learning each from this application? What experiences can we share? What is the collective wisdom that we can come up with?

Marlou

Au cours de conversations de la semaine dernière avec des animateurs de nombreux contextes et pays différents, il est devenu clair à nouveau que SALT comme une façon de penser et une façon de travailler (Une manière d'être ?) est une belle et naturelle jeu entre soi-même - famille et la communauté.

Je sais que beaucoup d'entre nous qui utilisent SALT dans notre travail appliquent aussi dans nos familles. 

Ceci est une invitation ouverte à tous ceux qui applique SALT dans notre famille, ou qui a accompagné d'autres familles utilisant SALT. Qu'est-ce que nous apprenons à partir de cette application ? Quelles expériences pouvons-nous partager ? Quelle est la sagesse collective que nous pouvons documenter ?  Laissez-moi savoir si vous êtes intéressé à se joindre à un petit groupe de travail sur « SALT en famille » tout en apportant votre propre expérience. 

Marlou

[Rituu B. Nanda]

Hi Marlou, 

This is not related to SALT but Asset based community development facilitators who seemed to have done a lot of work with families. These blogs might be of interest:

https://sustainingcommunity.wordpress.com/2016/03/28/the-parent-emp...

https://sustainingcommunity.wordpress.com/2015/11/12/mutual-self-he...

[Marlou]

Thank you Rituu.

Do you also have personal experiences to share on SALT in the family?

Marlou

[Rituu B. Nanda]

No but the links I shared are experiences of others. I have found that ABCD facilitators have done extensive work with families.

[Rituu B. Nanda]

Email response from Rafique

Dear Marlou,

As my daughter is in Mumbai, and son in Newark, what is left of the family is only my wife and me, who are in Champion Care Homes.  And we are forced to practice SALT, as SALT is the WoW at Champion Care Homes, and we are the ones that are facilitating it. 

Also, we found that living in a Care Home where nothing is a secret, it is impossible to not practice what you preach. 

As for the dream we are still to complete the dream for the family, though for Champion Care Homes all the staff together have done the dream, and are learning the self-assessment! For in Champion Care Home there are weekly Staff meetings which is known as SALT meetings.

In due course, I will write a blog on this. Here is what my daughter  Ayesha wrote on how we used SALT in our family http://aidscompetence.ning.com/profiles/blogs/salt-ed 

With best regards,

Rafique

[Marlou]

Rafique,

Many thanks! Indeed the sharing by Ayesha was and still is beautiful and had at the time inspired others in the Constellation. Would love to hear about the family dream when you next have a chance for a family SALT exercise. SALT practice is there every day - lovely how you and your wife (what's her name?) are demonstrating that naturally, yet purposefully, in the Champion Care Home. 

Marlou

[Gaston]

Hi Marlou, 

I remember being inspired by Rafique's daughter and actually started expressing appreciation as well as my love to my direct family members. I grew up in a family that was very loving and caring, but wouldn't necessarily express this verbally. I realized during a meditation retreat that I actually wanted to change that and make SALT more explicit. 

I started by writing a love letter to each of my parents. I started with 'watering the flowers' or expressing specifically what qualities I saw in each of them and how I am trying to continue these in my own way. Also I actually expressed my love for them, which was rare in our family (but I didn't care ;). Since then, I try to verbalize the strengths that I see in my 3 brothers and parents the moment that I feel them. That is my practice. Not hesitate. If I feel the love or gratitude (during a meditation or something that reminds me), I instantly share it. By email, Skype or other means. 

And this is a good moment to express my own gratitude to the Constellation family and you Marlou :) . Keep the great work going. I am sometimes a bit 'silent', but always watching and following what's going on. Hugs from Chiang Mai. 

[Marlou]

Beautiful practice, many thanks Gaston! And certainly a practice to consider for every family (member). I can imagine how beautiful this is for your parents, brothers and yourself. And then little Tao now naturally growing up in such attitude.

Did your family members also changed their 'practice', inspired by you?

[ABEDNEGO KITHEKA MUTUNGWA]

I have used salt in my family ,the experience is that it helps reveal hidden strengths and doubles effort
My wife has strengths in flower gardening ,I uses SALT ,every time I appreciate she doubles the effort and adds creativity

I also uses SALT to encourage my two boys in studies,even when the grades are poor,I use SALT approach to create a dream arnd grades and future

If we learn to appreciate each other in our nuclear family then everyone feels sense of belong in a shared family values