The Rudolf Steiner Archive

3. Speech at a Monthly Celebration

[ 1 ] My dear children! The last time I was able to be here, I told you how happy I am when our dear friend, Mr. Molt, comes to Dornach—where the school for the older children, the adults, is being built—and picks me up so I can spend a little time with you again and see what you’re doing here.

[ 2 ] And why am I so happy when Mr. Molt comes to pick me up here? The reason I’m so happy is that I always have to think first: Now I’m going back to the school that was founded for our dear children—all of you who are here—out of a desire to help you become capable people ready for life.

[ 3 ] I haven’t been able to see much yet, since I’ve only been here a short time; just the very young children in the first and last grades. But I’ve been truly delighted. I’ve seen the patience and love with which the first-grade teacher has helped the children make progress, and I saw the beautiful spirit with which the eighth-grade class imparts to the souls of our dear young friends what human history teaches us: that people on Earth live in a process of progress and development, that the spirit drives this development, and that human history embodies what gives us the longing to contribute to the future as well. It was a wonderful hour that I was able to spend with the eighth-grade students. I am also so happy to see everyone else. I am always delighted when I see how what our Mr. Molt wanted to plant is beginning to take root here.

[ 4 ] You moved in as fall was approaching. At that time, we tried to reflect on what we would experience here and how we wanted to nurture: love for one another, love for the teachers, and love for the God who speaks through all things. Now you have experienced—while you were able to rejoice here in what the teachers offer you every morning, in what comes forth from the earth, in what spring brings forth—you have seen the trees turn green. Now let us also remember what we hear when we go out into the forest. There we hear the little songbirds; there we rejoice.

[ 5 ] But today—and I say this with deep gratitude—we heard something else as well: how you yourselves, under the guidance of your beloved teachers, shared with us what is in your hearts. You can hear the birds singing out in the forest; but you can also hear what you have presented to us here. That is the difference.

[ 6 ] We’re happy when we hear the little birds. But we tell ourselves: When we hear what you’ve shown us, there’s something else in it. There is in it what we call the human soul. There, your human souls speak to us; there, they sing to us. That is what a person makes of what speaks to them from nature outside. We hear the little birds in the forest; you hear many other things—things that come to us from the human soul when you sing them.

[ 7 ] But there is more out there in nature. You see how the plants grow, how the trees turn green. All of this is brought about by light. Light floods the entire universe. It is light and warmth that bring forth from the earth everything that delights your eyes and enchants your hearts. What resounds in your ears—brought to you through the patience and perseverance of your beloved teachers—what shines like light throughout the world, what enters your eyes—all of this also resounds from you to us, not only when you sing and dance, but when you express everything you have learned, everything you have absorbed about the human condition. It becomes light within your souls. And just think: what would plants be if the sun were not there? They could not emerge from the ground. They would remain mere roots, unable to produce blossoms, and it would be dark. That is how it would be for you if you were to walk through the world and find no school where you could learn anything. You would be like a plant that finds no sun. The soul finds its sun among people from whom it can learn.

[ 8 ] That is why we are so delighted that, thanks to Mr. Molt’s insight, such a school has been founded, and that is why people are so happy to be able to attend a school to which they devote their love. Seek the light of the soul, just as plants seek the light and warmth of the sun!

[ 9 ] I don’t want to keep telling you the same thing, because I don’t want to hear the same thing every time I come either, but there’s one thing I want to hear from you again and again—you must answer this, because it’s the thing I’m most curious about when I ask you: Do you still love your teachers, my children? [“Yes!” the children shout.] That is what I want to hear from most of you. That is what you should take to heart: Love for your teachers will carry you out into life! — Time and again, when I come here, I want to see that you have made further progress, but I also want to see that you continue to show how you have preserved your love for your teachers. You can be assured of this: when we think of the great building being constructed in Dornach for the older students—where adults are to learn—and when we think of our beloved Waldorf School here, we think of it with love and joy; and many people today think of the Waldorf School with love: how capable people become because, as children, they were filled with love for their teachers!

[ 10 ] Now I'd like to share one more thing with you: Dr. Steiner sends her regards; she is unable to be here today.

[ 11 ] A spirit should always reign here—the spirit that your teachers bring into this place. Your teachers learn to bring this spirit here from the spirit of the universe. This is how they take to heart, with their whole being, what Paul said. The Spirit of Christ permeates our school; whether we are doing math, reading, or writing—everything we do, we do with the mindset that Christ has awakened:

“I am with you always, even to the end of the world.”

[ 12 ] Let this spirit reign; it will reign through the love, patience, and perseverance your teachers show you. Let it also reign through what lives in your souls! Carry this spirit with you in the classroom; remember it when you leave the classroom. Rejoice in your hearts that you are returning to the Waldorf School, where the sun that every human being needs for life is kindled within you!

[ 13 ] If any of you should not be attentive, let another among you, out of love for him, step forward and say: “Hey, diligence and attentiveness lead up the mountain of life. Come on, comrade! You must always climb the Mountain of Life! So let everyone help the comrade who is faltering. All for one another, all for one; one who loves all. Let there be love among you, love for the teachers. Let us cherish this as part of the good

[ 14 ] The Spirit of the Waldorf School.