Rich Diversity of Talents

Every Saturday morning after breakfast we meet as a group in a circle for a full community meeting.

Like the Quakers, each meeting begins with a brief moment of silence after which we pass the talking stick around the circle so that each person gets a couple of minutes to share with the group their name, where they come from, and anything they wish others to know about them. In effect, we are telling our stories, and how we come to be sitting here in Greece this particular summer Saturday morning.

Our workshops and retreats are generally a week in duration, so each Saturday brings a new group of faces, who mingle with the more permanent staff of volunteers and community guests who stay for 3-6 weeks and constitute the "old hands". On any Saturday morning community meeting there are 12-28 people ranging from age 8 to 80, sitting round the circle, and a half dozen or more different countries represented.

Diversity is one of our strengths here: bringing together old and young, men and women, many countries, many paths, many viewpoints.

Toward the end of our Saturday meeting we go 'round and solicit offers and wants from everybody. Inevitably there is a richness in every group, and as people hear what others can offer, they find themselves opening up to offer skills and experiences they take for granted and are surprised to find that others are looking for just what they have to offer. The table above is a typical example of the compilation from the 8-15 July Vipassana meditation group led by Henk Berendregt from the Netherlands. I count 9 different countries represented in the 24 people present that morning: Holland, England, Scotland, Canada, USA, Ireland, Taiwan, Dominican Republic, Greece.

When you come to Kalikalos, you too will get the opportunity to share your experiences and talents and to take advantage of what others have to offer.

Jock Millenson