April - May News from the Youth Section at the Goetheanum

Beautiful messages reached us in times of lockdown - this one
touched us deeply:

'Message to young people,

In the current circumstances that humanity is going through, we have this
message: let's not lose our motivation. We trust in humanity and in the future even if everything seems to be full of uncertainty. Stay still, we will soon be out. May the stillness be in the body and may the soul be ready to take the leap. Let the soul tense up like the bow before releasing the arrow, like the athlete who bends down before jumping. In the arrow are our dreams. If new difficulties come, new dreams will come as well. The point of greatest tension is called resistance. Let's become that resistance. Let's plan the jump.'

'Mensaje a los jóvenes,

Ante las circunstancias actuales que está atravesando la humanidad tenemos este mensaje: no nos desmotivemos. Confiamos en la humanidad y en el futuro aunque todo parezca lleno de incertidumbre. Quédate quieto, pronto vamos a salir. Que la quietud sea en el cuerpo y que el alma esté lista para dar el salto. Que se tense como el arco antes de soltar la flecha, como el atleta que se agacha antes de saltar. En la flecha están nuestros sueños. Si vienen nuevas dificultades, también vendrán nuevos sueños. El punto de mayor tensión se llama resistencia. Convirtámonos en esa resistencia. Planifica el salto.'

By Manuela Smolovich, Sol Cerolini, Jazmín Pivetta and Laila Mackern, students of the Waldorf School in Córdoba, Argentina - www.casadelosjovenes.org

New horizons

Dear friends of the Youth Section Worldwide,

The first shocks of our current reality are behind us and slowly more and more people start to ask, how will we get out of this Corona-shock? How do we want to shape the society anew instead of falling back into old patterns? And how to help those who ask for it so clearly?

These questions appeared at our Youth Section Worldwide video call in April. With representatives of the Youth Sections around the globe - in more than 20 countries there are active Youth Section groups working - we shared experiences of the current Corona situation. Constanza Kaliks from the Youth Section and Georg Soldner as medical doctor and co-leader of the Medical Section at the Goehteanum opened this call. Out of this the initiative of Daphnee Littman (Israel) and Ronja Eis (UK/DE) came about, to work further on the above mentioned questions. For three weeks now, a group has engaged on a follow up process that provides a space to share our present situations, with questions and dialogues that are shared between young people living in different countries with different political situations.

(Re)Search
Additionally, we would like to invite you to participate in our (Re)Search project by sharing your point of view about the current situation and what can be done beyond it. Below you will find more on how to join and engage!

Warm greetings and stay well,

Johannes Kronenberg, Andrea de la Cruz, Ioana Viscrianu and
Rocio Ferrera with Constanza Kaliks.

The Youth Section at the Goetheanum Team

Invitation to (Re)search during these exceptional times

What is the world like now and what will the world be like after the current pandemic? Can each of us in this unique time, set impulses that could bear fruits in the near future?

Dear friends of the Youth Section worldwide,

The current events taking place in the world call us to question the status quo of our lives and our society. It is now clearer than ever how interconnected the world's processes are, how dependent we are on one another, and what effects and consequences an epidemic has on our lives in various aspects.

We are seeing in individual and societal responses to this situation both light and shadow: from a lack of trust and fear, to genuine acts of solidarity and commitment for others. In these, we can experience how our actions are changing and creating reality, how possibilities for action take endless different shapes.

Herewith we invite you to start a process of envisioning the future you wish for and finding actions in order to shape it!

The following questions are connected with the ones we have posed since 2017 to youth around the world participating in (Re)Search, the Youth Sectoin research project. These questions are of great relevance now and by asking them, we hope to keep growing an understanding of what it means to be young in our times.

Our invitation is for you to engage in the process of asking yourself these questions and then share your experiences with us. Your responses will contribute to the ongoing research process, which will result in a new publication at the end of this year.

We suggest the following questions, which ideally can be posed every day or on a regular basis:

1. Take a moment to review the past few months: can you describe what has taken place around you? how has life been affected or transformed by the present events taking place around the world? If you want, you can choose one aspect that has changed or been transformed and describe it in detail.

2. Now take another moment to look within yourself: can you find a gift or a present, that you would like to give to the world today? Something that planet, people and all beings could benefit from? What would this gift be?

3. Imagine that this gift is immediately active everywhere as if by magic: what changes or transformations do you see taking place in the world?

4. Coming back to the present moment: what would you actually have to do today to make the changes you envision a reality?

TIP: If you get stuck in the process of reflection, try inviting a friend or family member to help you by asking you the questions. You could also interview them and note the differences and similarities in your answers!

These questions are a guidance for you to enter a process of inner dialogue and reflection. We invite you to let your mind and heart wander through the images, thoughts and ideas that come up during exercise. Explore, become your own (Re)searcher...!

On the 3rd of June from 17:00 - 18:30 Swiss time we would like to meet with those who want to follow-up on this invitation and exchange reflections on the impact of living with these questions. You are very welcome to invite friends to this proposed experiment! Please let us know by May 15th if you will be part of it.

We are very much looking forward to hearing from you!

For questions please mail ioana@youthsection.org

Upcoming events & Coronavirus

Note! Our International Youth Summer Conference 'You and I in our Age - What can we transform together?' to be held in Georgia (13 - 17 July 2020) is canceled and will most likely be postponed until summer 2021.

Due the present situation we had to postpone all upcoming events held at the Goetheanum until further notice. This includes the activities in our house and our weekly choir. The 8t of June is the provisional date for reopening of institutions and public spaces in Switzerland. This will be confirmed at the end of May.

The signs reaching humanity from Earth are touching the foundations of our very existence. The climate crisis with the destruction of the earth’s living forces, the social disruptions, and the loss of cultural and spiritual foundations are speaking to our global civilisation. It seems that it is not the human being himself who evokes this call of awakening, but the very environment around us. How can we breath, listen and see beyond this moment of crisis? How to act out of understanding in order to heal the lands, our common life and find a morality based on establishing our individuality in relationship to others and the world?

This call demands new stories and views to overcome fear and polarisation. In this endeavour the Agricultural Section and the Youth Section at the Goetheanum - School of Spiritual Science will work together to see how youth-striving, the wisdom of the lands and an understanding of our health can contribute to the grand paradigm shift of the time we live in. Practical experiences, natural science and spiritual science will be the guiding principles in this encounter.

More information will follow soon!

With best greetings on behalf of the
Section for Agricultural and the Youth Section at the Goetheanum,

Ueli Hurter and Constanza Kaliks

We are here because we are all connected!
By Lasmina Manole (18), Romania

Lasmina was one of the participants of our winter conference 'February Days 2020: Bound to Earth - Freedom, Responsibility and Destiny in times of climate crises'. Down below you will find a fruit that came out of her participation.

Man could not live without nature because food, resources and shelter are offered to us by this! In this article I want to talk about my participation in the "Bound to Earth" conference organized by the Youth Section at the Goetheanum (last February 2020). This experience was for me a different kind of discovery of the natural environment and of my own person.

During the conference questions such as: "Can the inner crisis of man be reflected in nature?", "Is nature affected by our thoughts and actions even though they are not directed at it?" arose in myself. The answer I found is based on the assertion that there is a vital connection between man and nature. Nature is affected by the selfishness in which we live and which we develop more and more. Man needs to consume, but when greed comes in, every element taken from nature for profit leads to the destruction of the natural environment. We need to start being aware of our actions towards nature! This does not have to mean that from now on we will never eat animal products or use electricity again. Our needs should not be neglected, but maybe reconsidered, in order to find out how much resources we really need in order to avoid wasting.

The question is how we can help nature without leaving aside the daily needs and technology already developed. The change will appear when we begin to cultivate within us the life of nature and those around us, not just the personal life. Ever since we lived in caves we observed nature in order to develop our way of life. We have the skills and the needed creativity to find solutions to help nature develop, we just have to realize the significance of our actions towards it.

During the conference I participated in the workshop "Encountering nature as an invitation to self-knowledge". The discussions here were based on observing a candle, an exercise that may seem simple but full of teachings. The candle uses just as we do, elements of nature to keep the flame alive. Wax and oxygen are transformed resources to give us light and heat. We can learn from the altruistic way of giving the candle, without asking for anything in return. An ironic and sad thing is that it is just us, those who can now do almost nothing without wishing us something back we created this object, in a gesture of compassion, using natural elements. As I said before, living and developing at the same time and space we have this relationship of interdependence with nature. The problem of our time is that we no longer give life to nature, but only take it. One question I always ask myself is "What can I do for nature?", "What can today's society do for it?" It's hard for me to answer, and every time I spend time in nature I change or elaborate my answer. However, one thing is clear to me: someone who is not connected with nature will not be able to help her because this person won’t want it.
The candle-watching exercise has taught me a lot! Nature is life, and life means experience. As much as we have to learn from a human being, so many lessons can be offered by the environment as well.

During the conference "Bound to Earth" there were many opportunities to talk about recycling. This is not yet understood by everyone and this should not be blamed. Depending on the experiences and way of life of each person, certain concepts will be understood faster or harder. We cannot expect a man who has never come out of a metropolitan area to truly understand the importance of recycling. It will not be enough for him to hear from other people that it is necessary for the plastic to be recycled and not burnt, etc.

Thinking about these aspects, but also about my own experience with recycling, I associated the human processes with the recycling ones. We have done this because when the construction inside us is well formed, we can transpose it to the world around. It all starts from my own strength, so the following processes are essential to me. I believe that each one of us will really help nature when it comes to understanding oneself and being aware of the reasons behind its actions. A psychologist will first solve his problems and then he can solve the problems of others.

The similarities between the recycling processes and the internal ones:

1. Sorting of recyclable materials - the plastic is thrown to the plastic, the paper to the paper and so on. This process resembles the separation of thoughts, the sorting of aspects of life according to their importance and priorities.

2. Processing of recyclable materials - this is about melting, cutting and modifying substances so that the material can be reused. This phenomenon is similar to the implementation of our ideas and desires, but also to their modification according to circumstances or possibilities. Our life is constantly changing and in most cases we are the factor of this metamorphosis.

3. Compost - represents the collection of biodegradable residues in the household to create natural fertilizer. This is about accepting unpleasant experiences to learn from them and to become better and stronger. Although compost may seem disgusting, it does bring many benefits to the soil.

4. Reuse of materials - Reusing plastic, wood or any other natural material we appreciate its importance and do not waste it. Awareness of the useful processes / good aspects of our life resembles that of recycling because in this way we do not allow the beautiful things we have lost to be lost and we return to them whenever we need or use them to help us. Build the future.

5. Transformation of old objects - when we notice that an object has worn out but can still be used, we try to beautify it or transform it into something else. In this way we can keep the essence of an idea or an event to create something new, adapted and much more useful (a new lifestyle, a new way of thinking).

The development of technology and industry should not separate us from the nature, because our life and hers go together. What do we have to change in order to be closer to nature and to start helping it?

I want to launch a little challenge for you: Think of a place that you really appreciate and try to look at as a whole. How is it influenced by humans? What kind of natural environment is it? What is nearby and what is the surrounding environment? Can you feel how we share resources, nature and even the Earth?

"Bound to Earth" was part of the annual conference series "February Days". Every time I remember what I learned and discovered there, I am extremely happy and grateful for this experience!