Together of Our Own Free Will

The Earth’s elliptical orbit has two focal points: the Sun as a physical center, and the other as a spiritual center. Two focal points, one earthly and one cosmic, also sustain a community. The common will arises when everyone in the community wills it together.

---

The title of the Agriculture Conference was “You Never Farm Alone.” But often, out of courage or perhaps overconfidence, people still say, “I can do it alone.” Then another voice warns, “No, a biodynamic farm is too large and too complex a project. You can’t do that alone; you have to do it together with others.” Humility begins to sprout and grow. Voluntary collaboration oscillates between courage and humility. Both are needed. When speaking specifically about the initiative group—the people who really take the project in hand and lead it forward—how does collaboration work there? My experiences come from working with the L’Aubier initiative as a farmer for 30 years, and from 16 years of working at the Goetheanum.

Heart of the Community

The inner core of every initiative is its field of actual collaboration. When those carrying out the activity cooperate out of their own free will, the surrounding community resonates in that same spirit. Such an initiative or working group can be four to seven people, but it can also be a married couple or as many as seventeen people, as is currently the case with the Goetheanum leadership. Where is such a community put to the test, to see whether free will succeeds or not? In the group meetings. These gatherings are the real heart of a community.

Everything from the periphery comes together here and gains new momentum, so that it can then pulsate through the coming week or month. These sessions, which are often repetitive, orchestrate the free will of all. A free person is someone who is capable of thinking independently. “I think, therefore I am,” said René Descartes. We could also say: I plow, therefore I am. I cook, therefore I am. In short: I am because I am. The ‘I’, a being grounded in itself, does not need the world to lend it something for its own foundation; it stands upon itself.

In his Table Talk, Martin Luther says that he fears his own heart more than he fears the Pope and all the cardinals. This means: I carry the Pope within me. This personality stands at its peak. Sociologically speaking, with the advent of modernity, this marks the emergence of the self-founded personality in the social context. This is something new. This individualization is the driving force behind social development. Is there anything that could slow us down from driving this individualization ever further? I believe that anything that seeks to oppose this trend will, sooner or later, be pushed aside. There is something very deep that expresses itself in this individualization. It is part of our very nature that we possess this autonomy on a normal experiential level and are also proud of it.

This text is an excerpt from an article published in the (online exclusive) Goetheanum Weekly. You can read the full article on the website. If you are not yet a subscriber, you can get to know the Goetheanum Weekly for 1 CHF./€.

---

---