Skip to main content

'Kindle a light in the Darkness'


'Kindle a light in darkness'

"As far as we can discern, the sole purpose of human existence is to kindle a light in the darkness of mere being.' Carl Gustav Jung, 1962




The world as we know it has disappeared forever, and there will be a different world, it may be a better one or not, we can only wish, but in this dystopian time we have the ability to make the changes that will be needed to make it a better one.  I liken it to an all evolving work of pottery, that is spinning and shaping well, until it doesn't anymore and it collapses in a heap; huge mess.  This is what our world could be doing now, spinning, moulding, but collapsing in front of us.  It is probably time to envisage what a perfect world will look like, and what is needed to shape it into a utopian world.  It could be the time to ask and reflect on what is needed to make that happen.  It is up to us, ultimately, possibly as a collective, but inherently, the responsibility lies in each and every one of us.  It is not about group numbers anymore, it is up to each and every one of us.  We all have a responsibility to respect ourselves and each other.  We cannot be in this together when so many are not.


The demonstrations in Melbourne, on top of a pandemic, on top of a lockdown, on top of a state that is trying to educate people that vaccinations will make the difference to opening up and keeping everyone safe has become bewildering.  These same people want safety and protection yet are rejecting the science on every level, somehow it has become about Freedom.  What people fail to realise is that the Virus cornered everyone behind bars a long time ago  regardless of any state directives.  Chants that 'My Immune system can fight it', paves the way for a reshuffle in state hospitals to be able to accommodate the swell in projected numbers of those that will become very sick and or die and or suffer the consequences of long Covid.   Today, Thursday the 23rd of September there were 744 cases in Victoria, The Burnet Institute modelling indicates that Victoria will hit a peak of 1,400 to 2,900 cases between October 10 and October 31.  Freedom is never synonymous with a Virus, nor is Freedom worthy of enjoyment six feet under.  At what point did an ideology or concept try to gain momentum over science and fact? At the core it is fear driving most of these extremities in behaviour.  Fear of compassion.  


The Pandemic has left individuals feeling anxious about their safety and when stresses procure depression a fear for compassion could develop; a fear for compassion for others and self.  So, no matter what safety measures are put in place the fear of compassion is prominent. Gilbert, McEwan, Maros and Rivis, in their study 'Fears of compassion: Development of three self-report measures' indicate that 'Fear of compassion for self was linked to fear of compassion from others, and both were associated with self coldness, self-criticism, insecure attachment, and depression, anxiety and stress'. To perhaps address the mental impacts of the Pandemic is the step in the right direction to help curb the violent protests and extreme ideologies which have afflicted Melbourne, and the overall country.  


This darkness and grim point in history will not last forever, nothing ever really does.  The pain of the Pandemic swept over so many people so quickly that there has not been enough time to process the reality other than be washed over by feelings of helplessness.  Compassion for self and seeking help is key.  It will be a time of a new beginning and it is a time to forge out what our new world can look like. It is where,  put simply, we can blow on the embers to kindle a light, and together we can get through this.

Image: Photo by Tim Marshall on Unsplash

Stella Grammenos-Dimadis

23rd September, 2021.





 










Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Memories are the key not to the past, but to the future.

"Memories are the key not to the past, but to the future. "   Corrie Ten Boom Corrie Ten Boom was a Dutch watchmaker, who had helped many Jews escape during the Holocaust, was a prisoner and then a writer.  She held many memories, no doubt, fears; images that would stay forever and haunt her, but they were able to unlock a future for her that she would never have imagined.  Her writing and her boldness initiated her knighthood by the Queen of the Netherlands, The King's College in New York City named a new women's house in her honour, her book "The Hiding Place", was  made into a feature film, twice. Locked away in our computer hard drives are examples of our work and lives that we lock away when our computer sleeps, forgetting about their importance because we are always told to focus on the now, forgetting about our past.  Well, perhaps it is time that we also learn to love our past, regardless of what it was like, so that we can understand what our
Post a Comment
Read more

Writer's block

Writer's block The Writer's responsibility is to his art.  He will be completely ruthless if he is a good one.  He has a dream.  It anguishes him so much he must get rid of it.  He has no peace until then... William Faulkner  Having written films, articles, essays, reports, it has always, at one stage or another, plagued me when I have had writer's block.  That moment when I sit staring at the computer screen as if it is an alien standing it's ground in a duel for battle with me.  Eyeing me, daring me to drop my weapons of my imagination.  The frustration builds up and chocolate beckons, serenading the virtues of itself.  It is all too familiar, this battle, and I may have thrown my writing in all together had it not been for my editor in the late 90's when I completed some articles for Who Weekly. I remember grizzling into the phone line with him that my writing was not perfect...there was something missing...I couldn't pinpoint it...it didn't make
2 comments
Read more
 Nature repeats itself "It never occurs to me that (skulls) have anything to do with death. They are very lively. I have enjoyed them very much in relation to the sky." Georgia O'Keefe In the previous blog, I wrote about the the human form and the importance of it in creativity and art.  Mastering the human form will allow the creator to master other forms in nature. I have some palm trees in the back yard which have surprised me by how high they have become.  They were sold as small trees and now over power my small back area, towering over the trees in suburban Melbourne.  Despite their height, I have enjoyed the changes that they display with each season.  I don't know much about palm trees, but come autumn, they shed some of the old branches and their bark.  Mornings I will wake to find these scattered in my very small yard, did I already say I have a small yard?  You can imagine the space these take.  In any case, recently I found a piece of the bark on the groun
Post a Comment
Read more