Poetry

Sunday 24th January, 2021

Another glorious day. The frost was thick on the ground, the sky was a mauve pink and faded in to an azure blue between 8.30am and 10am. I streamed Mass from Canada and a Dominican gave an excellent and challenging sermon. He pointed out that the reading of the call of the Apostles was full of courage and risk. Jesus broke convention as a Rabbi and called the disciples rather than students asking a rabbi to be their teacher. On the shores of the Sea of Galilee he called them, not in the power centres of the Roman occupation or the religious authorities or the rich and connected but on the shore. He called Peter and Andrew from their family business. He risked, they risked and their lives were to be a risk as they challenged people to accept the risk that the good news message was the way, the truth and the life as invested in this man, the Son of God. He was crucified. Most of them would be martyred. What motivated these men to risk? The Dominican quoted some pop song about risk. He noted the lyric "Freedom is when their is nothing else to lose". I have thought on this much of the day. Yes, freedom is when you know or have faith to believe that even your life is irrelevant to a bigger Truth. We have so many examples in history of this from the martyrs to the prisoners of conscience to those who give their lives for their country, their and other people's freedom, for democracy, for justice....the list is long as is the list of the names of such persons many of whom we do not even know nor have heard of. I call that the list of the Unknown saints, the Unsung heroes, the Unrecognised martyrs.

My walk was incredibly cold. I took my grabber and walked. I was impressed at how many people were exercising yet keeping the regulations. I thought as I looked about that there are some who take risks but for themselves rather than for a worthy cause. Such people are in the news today when social parties have been broken up by police and the organisers and party goers fined. They risk their health, the health of others and that is a risk of no worth. If I believed their cause was for freedom, a demonstration against the shutting down of human rights I would applaud as I applauded the demonstrators in Russia yesterday. It was just selfish, insensitive and reckless.

Walking allows me to think fairly clearly as well as to sit on various benches and perches in the Parks about, sit and look to the old trees, the beautiful landscape, the every day activities of nature and learn perspective. My conclusions may be wrong but I try...

Rumi has this, and I have quoted it before:

" Gamble everything for love,

if you are a true human being "

Love is a risk and it leads to crucifixion and many other hellish states but it is the freedom for which we should risk all.

Back home I received an email from a friend. Her 7 year old Grand daughter had written a poem about the difficulties of the lockdown and the Covid fight in the world. It is a lovely powerful poem and ends:

" we are not just fighting to be devoted

we are fighting for a chance to change

and right now it may seem strange. But..

We are all here and connected just two metres apart

We are here together and here is where we start".

My friend told me she might be biased but thought it brilliant. I replied that she was biased but that it was, also, brilliant. The sentiment is true...this is where we start. Start the fight to be fully ourselves, fully prepared to die for what is right. It is a risk we have to take to be fully ourselves, fully free, fully loving and alive.