To Heike Oberschelp’s contribution in Anthroposophy Worldwide 6/2019
Dear Ms Oberschelp, you evidently felt the need, after briefly reviewing last year’s events, to leave behind the state of ‹cardiac arrest› and make your own helpful contribution towards the important tasks that lie ahead.
One outcome of the 2018 AGM clearly took many members aback. The Swiss are more proficient than other nations when it comes to voting (having several referendums every year at national, canton and parish level), but this is not the place to discuss the value and limitations of the Swiss law of associations.
What puzzled me when I read your letter was that you seem to feel, and judge, that the decision made then by more than 60 per cent of members present was disconcerting. Did no one, in the many conversations you mention, ask about the inner and outer conditions leading to that vote?
You quote solemn words by Rudolf Steiner in your letter. May we increasingly succeed in unfolding the moral power of those words. You seem to assume that, at the time, many members were wrong and that forgiveness would have been appropriate. But how can we overcome the frequent sweeping preconceptions that come to nothing, and replace them with thorough scrutiny, similar to the condensed, objective way in which a physician takes the patient’s history? Motions submitted to the agm also arise from such concrete will application, for instance in relation to the financial situation.
I would like to mention the familiar anecdote of an old couple, where one of the two sighs during their daily game of chess, «I’ve really had enough; I’ve done this for decades just to please you», and the other replies, «… but I’ve done it just to please you!»
The little sketch shows that no problem is solved if one merely longs for harmony without actively applying one’s will. Building bridges means having the courage to face what needs changing (starting with oneself, of course). This courage requires more than goodwill; it requires genuine interest arising from a will that can overcome itself. This is what I hope for, and I also hope you will receive these lines sympathetically and forgivingly.