One week at Terra Meera, Croatia’s center for regeneration and community building, brought unexpected conversations of truth and reconciliation under the olive trees. We, a group of purpose driven women connected to Tiara Leadership International, had invested a small amount in the olive orchard with the promise that we would come to harvest the olives ourselves. Our primary aim was to support the owner of Terra Meera, dr. Irena Ateljevic, at her endeavor to create a blooming center for regeneration and community building.

Little did we know that this week turned out a marvelous opportunity to sharpen and enrich our beliefs and vision on life. Not only for ourselves, but also for the places and communities that we return to. And of course for Terra Meera itself.

The art of harvesting

Harvesting is not only fun. It is an art in itself and it is hard work too. In the end it brings more than just bottles of olive oil. It becomes fun if you do it together and if you experience the truth of what you are harvesting: the result of blood, sweat & tears.

We felt the presence of the women who came before us—our mothers and grandmothers, amid the stretches of olive trees. As we climbed trees and bent branches, we swapped stories, wearing the heirloom aprons and headscarves that once belonged to these matriarchs. Their spirits seemed to rejoice in the love and dedication we poured into our work, and in the wisdom and courage passed down through generations.

The importance of harvesting life’s lessons

As we mature, it’s vital to take stock, to harvest the wisdom, joys, and even sorrows of the years gone by. Regeneration is about infusing the future with the richness of the past. We mourned for the unlived lifes, the late discovery of health and joy, the stubborn patterns that have kept us stuck for so long. And we ended up with celebrating the connectedness, the love and the trust that brought us here. In this constellation, with precisely these women at exactly this place. The perfect laboratory for creating our enriched, regenerative future, based on the fruits of the past and the joy of today. We are so grateful that we never gave up.

Terra Meera: a pioneer in regeneration

We honored the hardship that it took to create Terra Meera, land of peace. A story of resilience and vision. Dr. Irena Ateljevic has started and ended several businesses, developed and taught numerous courses to thousands of students all over the world; all with the purpose of a regenerative world in mind. She had to battle loneliness, resistance, and societal neglect to pioneer a concept foreign to many. It’s a mission that sometimes requires validation from an international audience in a country still coming to terms with its complex past.

Truth and reconciliation

This part of Croatia carries the weight of historical conflict, where many Croatian Serbs had to flee during the war, leaving behind empty houses and abandoned lands. Terra Meera stands as a beacon of hope, a message that regeneration is possible, that reconciling with the past can lead to a hopeful future.

For fruitful regeneration we need places of truth, brave and resilient pioneers that lead to align all efforts in the direction of hope. And sometimes an external view is needed to value the efforts and the results. Our presence was not just beneficial for us but hopefully for the whole region.

Odyssey of the soul

Our week at Terra Meera turned out to be an odyssey of the soul. A physical, emotional, and spiritual harvest that gave us far more than bottles of olive oil. It gave us community, it gave us reconciliation, and above all, it gave us peace. Peace within ourselves and the promise of a regenerative future—for us, for our communities and hopefully, for the world.

Did we have to travel all the way to Croatia to harvest this? Yes! This perfect laboratory experience of detecting, exploring and finding out together, could not have taken place in some anonymous  conference center, anywhere in the world. The sharp ends, the un-known mix of different stories, needs and ingredients made this week the perfect grindstone for each and every one of us.

Now we can bring home the elixir of truth and reconciliation. If the truth can be spoken in a safe space, that is being held by conscious people and a healthy place, reconciliation can be made possible. An experience that reminds us that the journey to peace and regeneration starts from within, and can ripple out in unimaginable ways. Only one fractal can be the start a whole process with greater impact.