This article was first published in One Earth Magazine Issue 1 Autumn 1990.

***

As I was meditating about the relationship between the Findhorn Foundation and the community of people who are associates of the Foundation, I saw a stone thrown into the middle of a pond. I watched the ripples going out and out from the centre, but when the ripples reached the outer edge of the pond, those ripples returned to the place where the stone was thrown in the first place. As they did this, I realised that there is no separation between us and that we are all One.

We all need each other and it is important that there is no feeling of separation, no ‘they’ and ‘us’. How easily we can slip into that way of thinking and we must watch out and be very careful that this does not happen.

The Foundation needs to embrace the associates and the associates need to embrace the Foundation. How can this be achieved? There can be more giving and receiving, more sensitivity to each other’s needs. Everyone is so busy that we forget to look to the needs of each other. Let us change that and see what happens.

The Foundation is like a living, breathing being; it breathes in and out. If it spends all the time either breathing in, or out, it will surely die. So there needs to be a balance, collectively, of a steady breathing in and out, of giving and receiving. When we are all doing that, the Foundation and the associates will find that the whole body will be healthy and whole.

l feel it comes down to caring, to loving one another, to seeing each other’s needs and answering them. We all have needs and we can answer each other’s needs when we are sensitive enough and aware of one another.

I see a very strong and powerful partnership between us, for unity is strength. Division and disunity creates weakness so let there be no weak link in this partnership. Let us find unity, unity in diversity, for we are all unique but we are all moving towards the same goal; our realisation of oneness with God, the Divinity Within. We are all finding our way ‘home’ to the Source. As we work towards that goal we will find unity, peace and harmony, and let us give thanks that this is taking place now.