It all started with the lockdown which brought to me so many gifts and yet it was a painful period for so many… I got stuck in Findhorn, me… the one who keeps moving, never in one place more than a couple of months. I enjoyed the sway between two places, Milan – Scotland for several years, and all of a sudden I had to stop. The gift was having to stop.

I developed my relationship with the community and became the Town Crier but this is another story and I will write this one another time. It was the newborn roots that made me wish to be more involved, and to give something back to the place that shaped my direction in life.

My friend Cornelia told me that a small group of people had formed to think and dream into the 60th Birthday. I told Cornelia that I wanted to be part of it and she introduced me to the rest of the group. It was a year before the birthday. I am not sure if it was the fact that it was an important anniversary or the fact that I was sitting with a group of Elders who contributed to create the community that increased my excitement, but the feeling of ‘being part of’, the feeling of belonging was very active in me. We met regularly for a while, sometimes on zoom when I was down South for my academic studies, more people joined and some people left. 

It wasn’t an easy time, in the community the wound of the fire was still very alive and had increased the sense of separation that was running through the cracks since the Foundation had started its big change.

Each one of us went through changes, it is the time for change.

I started a MA course in Devon at the end of the first lockdown and I knew that the anniversary would coincide with my dissertation time, there was no way I could be involved then, so it was a good opportunity to be involved at the early stage and give my small contribution.

As they say, tell God your plans to make them laugh…

When Duerten approached me and asked me if I could be the event coordinator or at least being involved more consistently in the coordination team I was just back from the last leg of my course and getting ready to write my dissertation. 

I am a theatre producer and because of my professional background I knew I could be helpful, but I had to “think of me first’ (I convinced myself). 

I said that I could do it only two mornings a week and I felt it was a good compromise. We would be working in a team of three: Duerten, Annie and myself. Awesome. 

The routine of going to the ‘office’ (in the bungalow ‘Gateway’) every Monday and Tuesday morning thrilled me. I loved every moment of it! At first it was very slow but then emails with proposals started to arrive, people increased their visits to the office. With the help of my partner Manuel we prepared a big sheet to stick to the wall; it gave me a sense of satisfaction to start seeing sticky notes appearing on the board :)

My dissertation started to feel neglected as the working hours increased every week but I couldn’t help it.

I was in love.

In love with the community coming alive, wanting to express, to show up, to be present. What an amazing process of re-membering what was. The best part was talking to people sharing their memories and their ideas for the future, what they wanted to give for the birthday, what they wanted to get and what they wished for our community. A French musical duo sent their video saying that they had never been to Findhorn but they heard so much about it that they wanted to give their contribution with a concert. This is just one of the many acts of generosity that I witnessed.

Around 90 people offered something for the birthday celebrations, all volunteers, all with an open heart, people with a long history with the community, returning members but also people who are very new to it. I realised very soon that this task as event coordinator was not a job, but a privilege.

I have been blessed by the Angel of Findhorn. My dissertation was about awakening the hidden potential of communities and engaging with what is around us, the ecosystem, the world. I had a practical experience of it through this amazing journey. The team worked beautifully. I took 10 days off close to date to complete and submit my dissertation and then dived fully in for the last rush. And yes, there were emails sent at 2am… I have to say that I am used to pressure and the last minute feeling so the Angel knew I could handle it. The week was my pay back. We, together, awakened the spirit of community again. The smiles, the hugs, the tears… we, the living experiment, created another miracle.  

Every morning as Town Crier I announced the events of the day, my highlight every morning with Morrigan, Annie’s dog as my best fan, the last phrase of the Town Crier, coined during lockdown, remains the best conclusion of this adventure:

ALLOW YOURSELF TO BE INFECTED BY LOVE.

 With gratitude, Laura Pasetti