(These notes have been edited to reflect the privacy of its participants.)

No notes were taken on the last call, but this is what still lives in me after our conversation. Several individuals have asked to hear how things went on the January 8 call. Please note, the next conversation is Sunday, March 11 at 11:00A PDT/2:00P EDT.

On Sunday, January 8, a small group of us came together to hold the space for the North American Youth Section Initiative Team’s quarterly (or seasonal) conversation, opening with the verse:

May our feeling penetrate
Into the center of our heart,
and seek, in love, to unite itself
with the human beings seeking the same goal,
with the spirit beings who - bearing grace,
strengthening us from realms of light
and illuminating our love -
are gazing down upon
our earnest, heart-felt striving.

And in that moment of reading, it wasn’t any longer about the many things to do that occupied our minds, but a sensing into the feelings at the center of our hearts. What unfolded was a candid conversation about listening, speaking one’s truth and fear—the fear that is so often faced when we ask others to engage with us in a deep way. We become vulnerable, and the other becomes unintentionally vulnerable. An observations was made of how difficult it can be to hold the space necessary for deep intentionality in the face of all that needs to be done in our every day lives. Another participant spoke out of their own experience of working with fear, resistance and ambivalence between colleagues. How can we, the question was asked, hold space for other people’s fears, while remaining in integrity with our own needs? How do we serve the needs of the other while still being clear about our own needs? When we seek engagement, depth, true listening, how do we ensure that the space is there and that we are not imposing it upon the other? And then the question went even further into one of not presupposing that because we are seeking or striving for this kind of engagement that we are every greater than the other. Rather, we need to expand our awareness in that those who perhaps do not wish to engage with us in the way that we are seeking, are, nevertheless, offering their own contribution, their own wisdom, if we can learn to listen. 

These are just some of the threads that emerged in the course of our hour-long connection.

We also learned of upcoming events happening across the continent and the world:

• Think OutWord’s Peer-Supported Research Initiative, January 29 (Philmont, NY)
• In Context: Independent Waldorf Schools and the Global Crisis of Today, a Think OutWord Conference, February 17-19 (Harlemville, NY)
• The Game with Edgard Gouveia and students from 7^th-12^th grade at Sacramento Waldorf School and the Greenhouse, February 20-23 (Fair Oaks, CA)
• YIP Days, April 7-8 (Jarna, Sweden)
• Initiative Forum, April 9-14 (Jarna, Sweden)
• Impulse Festival II: Metamorphosis, April 26-29 (Placerville, CA)
• Heartbeet Conference, May 26-28 (Hardwick, VT)
• Learn-Work-Share: Anthroposophic Youth Medicine Conference, July 4-21 (Ann Arbor, MI)
• Leadership Colloquium and Next Youth Section Happening, August 10-12 (Ann Arbor, MI)

These events and others will be listed soon in our Youth Section eNews and on the website.

The group also heard announcements and any last contributions. If you have any contributions for the eNews—please email na@youthsection.org.

The next Initiative Team call will take place on Sunday, March 11 at 11:00A PDT/2:00P EDT.