Reflection – Community Winter City Gathering

Winter Connection: From Meditation to Green Action

What a beautiful morning it was in a packed Booth Church on Boothstraat in Utrecht. This church, still in use but often empty during the day, is rented out by DE ZALEN VAN ZEVEN for inspiring gatherings. It was the perfect setting for our Winter City Circle Gathering, guided by Joost Leeflang and Esther Koning.

Relax and Surrender to the Here and Now

Janneke Bok-Wicherts (facilitator/community committee) led us into the present moment with a guided meditation. She concluded with a teaching from the Tibetan monk Tilopa:

“Let go of what has been. Let go of what may come. Let go of what is happening now. Do not try to understand. Do not try to make anything happen. Relax and surrender to the here and now.”

Member for Life

Mirjam van Gils (director) shared updates on FNL’s developments. A key announcement: From this year on, everyone who has participated in an FNL program, past or present, automatically becomes a Member for Life, with free access to all our events.

Welcome Noud Duyzings

Our new chairman, Noud Duyzings, has officially started. He introduced himself and shared his vision for FNL’s future, including internationalization and leadership programs for young professionals.

Become a Billionaire in Trees

Ben Valks, founder of the Black Jaguar Foundation, spoke about large-scale reforestation efforts in the Amazon and Cerrado regions of Brazil. His mission: to restore ecosystems and protect biodiversity. These areas provide 20% of our oxygen, 30% of our water, and 25% of the raw materials for our medicines.

Ben’s dream? Become a billionaire in trees! By planting 1.7 trillion trees, we can restore the balance between people and nature. What does it take? Funding, passion, unwavering dedication, the right team, and working from a place of connection.

We wrapped up with a delicious lunch and a walk through Utrecht’s urban jungle.

Thank you to all the speakers, it was great to see everyone again!

With: Joost van Droffelaar, Monique Vering, Jan Maarten Kruyt, Caroline van Tatenhove, Merel Cats

Deborah Cheng, Laura Ozinga, Arjan Bleeker, Andre Nijhof