Morning Verse
I look into the world
 Wherein there shines the sun,
Wherein there gleam the stars,
Wherein there lie the stones.
The plants they live and grow,
The beasts they feel and live,
And human beings to spirit give
A dwelling in the soul.
I look into the soul
That dwells within me.
God's spirit lives and moves
In light of sun and soul,
In heights of worlds without,
In depths of soul within.
Spirit of God, to Thee I seeking turn,
That strength and grace and skill
For learning and for work
In me may live and grow
With these words, Toronto Waldorf School students begin each day.
Written by Rudolf Steiner for the students of the first Waldorf High School in Stuttgart, this verse evokes two complementary realities that underlie the principles and methods of Waldorf pedagogy.
- One "extends" the student into the outer world
- The other "intends" the student into the inner realms of soul
Toronto Waldorf High School helps students focus their nascent powers of intellect on the phenomena of the outer world while broadening their inner horizons. In this way, students can eventually discover a profound relationship between themselves and the world in which they live; they belong in it, and it belongs to them.
Only when they experience this relationship with the world can students fully give themselves to it in service.
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