Longing to gather
Vastness characterizes the soul of the bilingual nation - and the longing to come together. The annual conference was also affected by the lockdown, but the bridging of distances through digital communication channels led to the gathering of twice as many members and to valuable new experiences.
A place of quiet vastness, Canada spans 9000 km through six time zones, a nation of many countries. Rocky promontories confront the Atlantic while steep forested mountains face the sunset; filled with lakes and rivers in between. Facing north Canada embraces the Arctic, where sun and earth parted. Across it all our members and their initiatives spread like stars that, in places, draw into constellations. We have the twins – one French, one English – with their cities, Toronto and Montréal, balanced by what has evolved along the Pacific. Smaller centres, each distinct, spread across this vastness. At our heart is a place where rivers converge, sacred for First Nations, a gathering place for speaking, for listening, for understanding each other: the capital Ottawa. What these First Nations cultivated lives in us. In our landscape’s endlessness we long to gather, to create warmth.
Like the water – all movement
This landscape, this longing, shapes anthroposophy here. By intent, our Council mirrors our land. Its members live thousands of kilometres apart, each from distinct regions. Annually, this Council moves to three different areas, stitching together our dispersed membership. Each May a counter movement occurs. Members travel, often great distances, to celebrate together the shared work and hold our annual meeting. Like the Council, these gatherings move across the country, each year in a different region. Members bring what has engaged them. Like the water all around us, our anthroposophical life is all movement, all convergence.
In these past months this life-giving movement has abruptly stopped. This damming has become a numbing soul ache, the loss of something fundamental. This, while held by an amazing spring of clear skies, joyous birdsong. Nature has succoured us.
So, like so many, we turned to phantom connection electronically. Some faithfully call each other nightly, others begin their days turning to the Foundation Stone rhythms with short zoom calls. Members of the School have individually continued their established Class lesson rhythms. Others carried the complete series of lessons throughout the Easter weeks, agreeing to work individually, together. An initiative joined by others around the world.
Twice as many members participated
Most difficult was losing our annual conference. Like trying to stand on ever shifting waters, planning changed daily as travel restrictions escalated. Yet we carried on, holding three days of virtual events. Though unable to be together, this alternative made possible the participation of twice as many members. Many who are home-bound, or at a greater distance, attended. Joyous greetings began each session as the faces of old friends appeared on our screens. Though some members felt they could not take part electronically, many who did felt the experience was of value and could provide future possibilities if used creatively.
Through it all an appreciation grew for our Chief Medical Officer and her warm call “to be calm, to be kind, to be safe”, somehow truly Canadian.