Making Australia One

Shortly after nine, on the morning of April 25, a woman unobtrusively and unpretentiously stepped from the crowd and laid out the aboriginal flag at the foot of the flag pole.  A flag pole that was located by the cenotaph and which was flying the Australian flag at half mast.  Without a word, the woman melted back into the crowd.  A few minutes later, she was brought forward by an official and was asked to remove the flag.  This she meekly did, before quietly laying it on the cenotaph beside the wreaths.  Once again she was asked to move the flag.  Once again she gathered it up.  This time she took it with her as she resumed her position in the crowd.  She was crying.  She was hurt.  I, observing the scene from my place in the band, felt her pain.  I was hurt too.

Shock froze me to my seat.  I couldn't believe the injustice shown towards that woman.  My heart went out in empathy towards the woman.  I wanted to act.  I wanted to speak.  I was frozen.  Anger welled up in me towards the official who had shown such disrespect towards this woman and the people that she represented.  By her actions she was seeking to honour the Aboriginals who fought and died in the wars.  She had respect, and she was showing that respect.  How she was treated was wrong, very wrong.  I wish that I had been able to get up and show my support to that woman.  I didn't speak then, but I am speaking now.

As the crowd dispersed, the words and music of "We are One" rang out, adding insult to injury.  Instead of just playing "We are One", we need to BE one.  We need to be inclusive and respectful.  We need to listen and act.  We can't change the past, but we can, and must, change the present and the future.  

I believe it is about time that we create a new flag for the country of Australia, incorporating Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in the design process so that we honour them and thus take another step towards making Australia one.

Self-sufficiency

Growing up, I had a dream to get married, have a large family, live on a property, grow my own food and basically be as self-sufficient as I could possibly be.  I didn't want to have to rely on other people any more than I absolutely had to.  Now that I'm an adult, my goals have changed and are continuing to change.

Lately, I've been thinking about this idea of self-sufficiency.  Is it really something to aspire to?  We live in an integrated society, but is that a good thing or a bad thing?  We have farmers, manufacturers, shops, cleaners, hospitals, schools, etc.  Maybe being part of a wider community is a good thing.  It enables everyone to focus on developing and utilising their unique skills.  I'm grateful for all the members of my community.  At the moment, I am particularly grateful for the people who repair roads and remove rubbish.

The other morning I went for a walk.  I have a policy for my walks - walk mindfully.  That means not listening to any music or podcasts or stories.  It means immersing myself in my environment and actively seeking to be aware of all my surroundings through my senses.  As I walked this morning, I was noticing that the new leaves on the hedges that I was passing were a lighter shade of green than the older leaves.  These thoughts transitioned into thinking about how well the plants survived the flood.  The grass didn't bat an eyelid after being submerged under metres of flood water.  The plants don't worry about what is happening around them, they just keep on living as best they can.  They can't do this on their own however.  They need some water at least, and sunshine, and carbon dioxide.  They rely on other things.  Nature is not self-sufficient.  The different elements of nature rely on one another for the things that they need.  They give what they can and they take what they need.