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Seashore
On the seashore of endless worlds children meet.
The infinite sky is motionless overhead and the restless water is boisterous.
On the seashore of endless worlds the children meet with shouts and dances. [Tagore, 1913, pp. 3–4]
The transformation of any idea into a documented body of work, be it in art, music, or a literary treatise, has behind it a long history of germination and focused nurturance. From sparks of early interest, to initial support and later carefully cultivated attention, ideas bear fruit over time. This has been the story of this special issue of Psychoanalytic Inquiry. A long history of life events (cultural and familial), thoughtful deliberation, purposeful action, and, ultimately, the tender attention to sporadic bouts of motivation was a journey that culminated in this issue of working with children in need and analysts in alternative settings.
Wilfred Bion’s theory of thinking, perhaps captures best the evolution of this issue of Psychoanalytic Inquiry. According to Bion, the mind “grows through exposure to truth” (Symington, 1996, pp. 2–3) and emotional experiences form the basis for mental development and growth. The capacity for thought evolves out of these emotional experiences but thoughts exist prior to the development of a mental apparatus. The capacity for thinking develops in relationship to another mind and is mediated through “maternal reverie” (Bion, 1962, p. 309). One could, therefore, say that, in my mind, this thought evolved through a series of emotional experiences beginning in early childhood and perhaps even prior to that. I come from a family with a history of social activism and community involvement. Spurred by political, social, and cultural upheavals in my country of origin, my thoughts grew steadily and predictably. As I approached young adulthood, these ideas of social and political revolution found a voice in social activism and charity work of my own, beginning in my teenage years as a volunteer for a school fo