From circle to circle

Thirty minutes in the rain. Silently. Listening to the birdsong of the forest around us. There are around fifteen of us, gathered there in this discreet eco-friendly place very close to Villeneuve-sur-Yonne (Yonne). The local association of Green Fish invited me to share this “circle of silence for the living”. An initiative that it has been offering for two years every Saturday afternoon in different sites in the sector, to help everyone become aware of their place in the Creation entrusted to us.

That day, among those present, there was Bruno, a Catholic “a little angry with the institution”, but an avid reader of the Protestant theologian Jacques Ellul. There is also Eric, an Orthodox Christian, who is preparing to celebrate the long Easter vigil with the neighboring community of Russian nuns. And Agnès, very invested in a parish “which already has the Green Church label”, she emphasizes. And then Léa who is part of this generation of committed young people, concerned with consistency and true words. There is also Francis there, a Brother missionary from the countryside; then Pascale, a young Buddhist woman, and a few others. A beautiful collection of human and spiritual biodiversity for a collective that lives and acts in this region of Burgundy where citizen ecology is very active. After this circle of silence, the reflection revolves around non-violence and commitment. Because everything is linked. And, at that moment, everything was grace.