A Celebration of Green

As I sit out on the porch of the Bed and Breakfast that has been my home for the night, I am surrounded by green. The flowers in Scotland are at their peak right now, they are so beautiful, fresh and glorious. The porch that I am writing from is surrounded in glass and gives me the opportunity to see the trees, the plants, the vegetables that are an integral part of Findhorn Community. In Findhorn there is no such thing as a weed, everything has value. In Findhorn each yard is not a selling point for the real estate agent, a middle-class playground for which the children must have cut grass and a swing-set, no the yards in Findhorn are more than that,each yard is a pharmacy of plants, a meal for the night, an experiment in ecologically friendly technology, and quiet place amid the hills and buttes of Northern Scotland and nestled along the Findhorn Bay. At Findhorn, earth day is every day and each day is a celebration of green.

As I find my cadence in a community such as Findhorn, I am reminded of the often forgotten creation account in Genesis 2. "In the day that the Lord God made the earth and the heavens, when no plant of the field was yet in the earth and no herb of the field had yet sprung up -- for Lord God had not caused it to rain upon the earth, and there was no one to till the ground...then the Lord God formed man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life and the man became a living being. The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to till it and keep it." (Genesis 2:4b-7, 15) The men and women who make up the community of Findhorn are committed to living a life in unity with nature and with one another. Each person of the community takes seriously the invitation by God to "till and keep it". The men and women of Findhorn have chosen to live in this kind of community that lives not for themselves, but in community with all people. They believe the earth contains all that is necessary for humanity to live an environmentally and ecologically friendly life style. Although people can choose to build their own homes, they must meet strict ecological, environmental, and community regulations and standards. Although the homes are owned by the private owners, the land upon which they are built belong to the community of Findhorn.

The residents of Findhorn share common meals together and they care for one another. Their religious life is integrated with their daily life in the context of a fragile earth that in many places the earth cries out in pain, but in Findhorn a great amount of human energy is used to maintain the earth's resources and to leave as little a carbon imprint as possible -- allowing the earth to regenerate and to live in harmony with the families that choose Findhorn to be their home. Here the earth rests from the abuse of human greed and progress for in this community the earth and its resources is paramount and takes priority over the greed of humanity. Each day in Findhorn is a celebration of green, a legacy and a living witness to Genesis 2, "The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to till it and keep it." (Genesis 2:15)

"When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars tht you have established; what are human beings that you are mindful of them mortals that you care for them." (Psalm 8:3-5) As I anticipate this week to come, I will anticipate more to write, more ideas to share, and reflections on this time at Findhorn. As for today, as I babble on, I'll enjoy the celebration, the celebration of green. Each breath I breathe will be a gift from God that reminds me again that God does not want us to live without, but he has shown us that the land is sufficient. Today, in this place, celebrating green is as ordinary as breathing the fresh, morning air on the shores of Findhorn Bay.