“Another world is not only possible, she’s on her way… On a quiet day, if I listen carefully, I can hear her breathing” – Arundhati Roy.
Sitting on a beautiful Australian beach with his partner, my friend Graeme was reading St. Augustine.
Not a usual beach practice but seemingly providential.
Reading a section in which Augustine speaks as if he is the wind, the waves, the birds of the air, the fish of the sea, my friend had an overwhelming feeling of oneness with all God’s creation.
St. Augustine also conveys elsewhere that our happiness relates to our appreciation and reappreciation of what we already have.
This is great wisdom. Count your blessings.
There on that beach was an awakening moment for Graeme.
From this he now lives.
Both with wonder (wishing he had noticed and been more appreciative earlier in life), and with a yearning to help heal the earth.
He gave to our congregation The Thanksgiving Address of the Onondaga Nation: The Words That Come Before All Else.
I shared the story of Tom who has come from farm life into the city of Canberra to work on strategies which protect the habitats of koalas.
In the city he noticed the absence of small birds – the absence of their sound and flight.
In response he has been building little boxes to place in trees…so the little birds can return and feel safe.
He is awake and focused on doing what he can.
The common element to both these stories is silence and observation.
Relatedly, I have just completed the co-leadership of a four-day multi-faith retreat with the theme Inner Peace and Outer Peace.
I would like to share a little about this and suggest that it might be a model others will find helpful.
We invited around thirty religious and spiritual leaders to prepare by sharing their thoughts on how silence and deep spiritual reflection helps their life as peacebuilders.
Once gathered in a rural retreat centre, people spoke about the situation from which they had come and what their hopes were for this retreat.
The effect of the sufferings since October 7 were vivid in the reflections of Jewish and Muslim leaders. Others involved in Climate Action conveyed the weight of that responsibility when the necessary action is delayed by the current standard of political leadership. Trying to ensure the UNCOP process lands the Paris Agreement in time is difficult. Even decisions on where each COP will be held are not helpful.
Those involved in matters of health and education brought their awareness of the opportunity cost of militarism and of the immediate cost to those made refugees by violence.
Once gathered, people shared their learnings about how they sustain their peacemaking in current circumstances.
A common learning is the importance of stillness, silence and of a meditation practice. I shared about how the Jesus Prayer of the Heart sustains me.
Thereafter participants shared stories of people of grace and inner peace who have given them inspiration. These sharings were rich – the inspiration a Muslim leader from Bosnia gained from a bereaved mother; the courageous writing of Arundati Roy in India; those providing clean drinking water to villages in Africa, amidst poverty and vested interests…The model of a grandmother who had little, but who’s grace made guests feel comfortable, even if the only hospitality she could offer was a glass of water.
After these nurturing sharings, a feeling of deep unity in our common humanity became more pervasive. Thus, we were ready to consider how, with a global perspective, we can deepen connections between Inner and Outer Peace.
We asked: where are the gaps and how can we enhance cooperation?
Groups formed and participants took responsibility for continued action.
Towards the end, we asked people to share one intention that they had as a result of our retreat.
This too was rich and focused. A granddaughter of the poet Rumi conveyed his wisdom that all truth is derived from a dream.
Agreeing thus to sustain our spiritual practice with more intentional times of silence (having felt the unity this brings); to be patient with what it takes to bring healing after trauma; to continue in friendship and always make a healing rather than a harming choice, we planted a tree and then parted as friends who share a dream…A sacred imagining of a human family flourishing together…even yet!
Graeme on a beach; Tom in his urban backyard and those of us gathered for this Retreat, like many, want to do what we can for those who are innocent of the past and now so vulnerable.
Prior to going to this retreat, our family had some days together in an old shearers hut. We found a lamb, somehow on its own in a paddock and barely breathing. Bringing it by the fire and gently feeding it, as below, we saw the lamb recuperate and embrace life.
Arundhati Roy once conveyed ‘awakening’ to a World Social Forum…”another world is not only possible, she’s on her way.. On a quiet day, if I listen carefully, I can hear her breathing.”
May it be so! We can but persist in offering our times of stillness, silence and meditation linked to the practical action that is our possibility.
Philip Huggins
Bishop Philip Huggins Director, Centre for Ecumenical Studies, Australian Centre for Christianity and Culture, August 25 2022
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