• About

Letters to Biddy

~ a weekly reflection as a letter to Biddy Early, 19th Century Irish healer from Ennis, County Clare

Letters to Biddy

Tag Archives: ANZAC

Cease

09 Saturday Aug 2014

Posted by Moira Were AM in Uncategorized

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

Andrew Bovell, ANZAC, Biddy Early, Cease, David Steindl-Rast, Elissa Melamed, Gill Hicks, nationalism, oikumene, Omar Musa, peace, war

Dear Biddy,

At this time of the year I recall the explosion of the atomic bombs on the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. From 6 August 1945 as a human race we entered into a new stage of human development. Far from the kindness and warmth of a peat fire in County Clare the sounds and smells of charred bodies took the shape of a mushroom and we were never the same again. Not the exclamation mark to silence and define destruction’s tipping point, this cloud continues in the atmospherics around us. The great pilgrim and pacifist, Brother David Steindl-Rast writes in Gratefulness, the Heart of Prayer: “Since August 6, 1945, no one can deny that all of us belong together in this spaceship Earth.”

When you are in the same boat with your worst enemy, will you drill a hole into his side of the boat?’ Elissa Melamed

I rise this morning to join my breath and silence with others participating in Cease – an innocent, harmless action of doing nothing. (Cease comes from the French word to yield.)

I yield to peace and seek from the silence to yield, indeed harvest out of the stillness, more stillness to share. An antidote to the frenzied fear manifesting itself in the conflicts around our planet. While we have been free of a nuclear attack, the wars, acts of terrorism and hate ripping us apart embodied in the blood of those on the front lines  – their bodies deposited in the bank of inhumanity. Militarism is only a part of the story, poverty and fear are in the mix. Cease is one response. I am sure Biddy, you too had times when you did nothing to do something.

Cease

Studying the psychology of terrorism urges us to find the hope in the fear – and right now with our world on the brink once again, fear seems to have inoculated itself against hope. Paralysis sets in as the images of masked men marching in and out of towns as maps are marked in yellow and red and children fall to the ground in front of the people who love them the most.

Being still and sending all the love I can muster to others in the boat might be the best I can do. The pervading nationalism that unfolds with every step towards the centenary of ANZAC seem to be creating a pathway leading to shores where young lives are sacrificed by the old men in suits and combat fatigues.  A long bow does not have to be drawn to see where this can lead, surely we have been there, done that?

This week I heard Andrew Bovell, one of Australia’s greatest playwright’s and screenwriters launch a young man’s first book. The book: Here Come The Dogs. The man: Omar Musa. Using his book to hit his hand to claim the space of the artist to reflect back to the rest of us what is going on was like a clap of thunder. Thor had spoken. The thunder clap had been preceded by rain in Bovell’s speech, preparing the ground for and opening us all up for what was ahead. It was an exquisite essay.  Omar is generous and demanding, he is inviting us into his world of an Australia that is invisible to me. I know that the single clap was a call to cease fire too. A call to action to name and claim, shame and share what actions we all need to take to get closer to wholeness and further away from the disintegration and fallout of the mushroom cloud that separates us from one another.

The simple reality that we are all in the same boat is central to me.  First introduced to oikumene when working with church leaders in the 1980s it remains a touchstone for  me – this common household we inhabit called planet Earth. We are the housekeepers and right now we aren’t doing a great job.

Oikumene term derives from the Greek οἰκουμένη (oikouménē, the feminine present middle participle of the verbοἰκέω, oikéō, “to inhabit”), short for οἰκουμένη γῆ “inhabited world”.

Andrew Bovell and Omar Musa reminded me once again of the vitality of the artist to help us keep house. Cease is reminding me there are times to sit still, times to be mindful. This is the time to connect to our most sacred responsibility as housekeeper. Lest we forget: The clouds are reflected in still waters.

By a lake in Sweden

By a lake in Sweden

Share this:

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn

Like this:

Like Loading...

Fly Past

25 Friday Apr 2014

Posted by Moira Were AM in Uncategorized

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

ANZAC, Australia, Biddy Early, flag, Leunig, war

Dear Biddy,

Today my country commemorates the futile slaughter of young men in a foreign land, a huge loss in battle, tactical errors and sheer stupidity, that sent a generation to their deaths. We continue to remember them, now 99 years on.  This same week the Australian government, between forecasts of austerity measures, announced a purchase of 58 fighter jets for $12Billion. The horror of this juxtaposition was eloquently made by Australian national treasure Michael Leunig.

Michael Leunig

Michael Leunig

As in year’s past, I commemorated Anzac Day by going to the Dawn Service in my village of Willunga. This year more people than ever and for the first time a recognition of the Aboriginal soldiers who fought in WW1 and WW2 long before they were granted the vote in 1967 (another travesty).  A young student from the local primary school told the story of a friend of her great grandfather who had fought along side him who was an Aboriginal man with distinguished military service, she was followed by a fellow student who told of his grandfather who was German and lied about his nationality so he could join the armed forces for Australia and serve during WW2.  As the flag moved from being at half mast to being raised towards the end of the ceremony, there were no jet fighter pilots accompanied by a sonic boom, but instead the gentle cooing of doves and as if on cue, accompanied by the morning song of magpies, a flock of birds flew over head.

I was deeply touched by creation having the last word. As dawn broke and the bugle mourned, a glorious day was revealed, with no wind at all. The flag remained unfurled with no billow in its sail.

Victim impact statement.  Silent and still in meditation. Downcast. Weeping.

Flag, Willunga War Memorial, Anzac Day 2014

Flag, Willunga War Memorial, Anzac Day 2014

Share this:

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn

Like this:

Like Loading...

Recent Posts

  • Bye, bye Biddy
  • What if
  • Tall Tales
  • Lies, Denial, Truth
  • Bystander in the Herd

Recent Comments

Dancing with Speeche… on Kintsukuroi
Made by Disappointme… on Kintsukuroi
tomwest on Bye, bye Biddy
Lynn on What if
Ellenmary Allen on Lies, Denial, Truth

Archives

  • December 2014
  • November 2014
  • October 2014
  • September 2014
  • August 2014
  • July 2014
  • June 2014
  • May 2014
  • April 2014
  • March 2014
  • February 2014
  • January 2014
  • December 2013

Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 2,103 other followers

Recent Posts

  • Bye, bye Biddy
  • What if
  • Tall Tales
  • Lies, Denial, Truth
  • Bystander in the Herd

Recent Comments

Dancing with Speeche… on Kintsukuroi
Made by Disappointme… on Kintsukuroi
tomwest on Bye, bye Biddy
Lynn on What if
Ellenmary Allen on Lies, Denial, Truth

Archives

  • December 2014
  • November 2014
  • October 2014
  • September 2014
  • August 2014
  • July 2014
  • June 2014
  • May 2014
  • April 2014
  • March 2014
  • February 2014
  • January 2014
  • December 2013

Blog Stats

  • 4,251 hits

Blogroll

  • Discuss
  • Get Inspired
  • Get Polling
  • Get Support
  • Learn WordPress.com

Recent Posts

  • Bye, bye Biddy
  • What if
  • Tall Tales
  • Lies, Denial, Truth
  • Bystander in the Herd

RSS Feed

  • RSS - Posts
  • RSS - Comments

Follow me on Twitter

My Tweets

Create a free website or blog at WordPress.com.

Privacy & Cookies: This site uses cookies. By continuing to use this website, you agree to their use.
To find out more, including how to control cookies, see here: Cookie Policy
  • Follow Following
    • Letters to Biddy
    • Join 2,103 other followers
    • Already have a WordPress.com account? Log in now.
    • Letters to Biddy
    • Customize
    • Follow Following
    • Sign up
    • Log in
    • Report this content
    • View site in Reader
    • Manage subscriptions
    • Collapse this bar
 

Loading Comments...
 

    %d bloggers like this: