Findhorn Surprise

I have been inspired by individuals who simply live the change they wish to see in the world--no preaching, no threatening, no speculating or instigating--simply living the lives that make them feel whole. Satish Kumar somehow arrived in St. Louis last semester and talked with my friends and I about nonviolence and the state of the planet. His humble presence left me buzzing, his words were so powerful and so truthful. Here at Findhorn I have found out that Satish Kumar is an extremely respected teacher/elder/human being. We barely knew who he was at the time which makes me infinitely more inspired by his humility and his faith that his feet would bring him wherever he was most needed on the Earth.

I feel more and more each day that I become what I believe...and it feels good. I think it is only individuals that can make the choice to change within themselves--sometimes this can happen on a collective scale but ultimately it is ourselves that make the first move.

Thus, with my new and exciting knowledge of edibles, I went ahead and cooked what I like to call the "Findhorn Surprise." ALL of the ingredients were gathered within a mile of my bungalow. That was empowering in itself. The dish consisted of seaweed from Findhorn Bay, potatoes from Cullerne Gardern, and Rosemary, Thyme, and Marjoram from the herb garden. I put it out at the lunch buffet and the community was ecstatic.

They told me the dish was delicious. I cooked it for my own enjoyment, to humor myself by breaking through the boxes that tell me I can't cook seaweed from the bay but I can buy it in plastic wrap from the store down the street. And besides for humoring myself, there is a thriving possibility that my action will inspire someone else to cook a local dish. How naive of us humans, made of 78% water, to think that our motions in the world do not act exactly as ripples in a pond do. They expand, they intersect, they project. They are like an owl's hoot in the middle of the night--never knowing how many creatures have heard the call.

I'll end tonight with some beautiful words passed on by Satish Kumar's mother:
"As a seed is capable of becoming a tree, all human beings are also capable of realising their own full potential. In order for the seed to become a tree it must be planted in the soil--underground, in the dark, and almost forgotten. In relationship with the earth, the seed surrenders its separateness, its identity, its individuality, its ego. In fact, the seed allows itself to become one with the earth, only then its hidden energy bursts open and we see green shoots emerging like a miracle."