Sitting with chaos: on new science, belief and change

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In 2000 I wrote,

Once I had a dream

            a dream of Nirvana

                        of Eden before the Fall

                                    of a time when...

            And I believed as I believed others believed

            that if I searched I would find the truth

                        of this perfect beginning of all things

                                    culmination of all things

                                                fulfilment of all things

           

            But the truth that was revealed did not match the dream

            and nomatter how close I came to the dream

            it remained just

                        out of reach

                                    out of touch

            with the reality of the truth revealed.

            So we have made a pact the dream and I

            She had shed her half bloomed petals

            revealing her centre

                        her heart

                                    her potential

                                                her seed.

            And I have taken this seed and hidden her

            in the deepest recesses of my womb.

            For we have made a pact the dream and I

            and we will love, nurture and protect each other

            until the time is right

            and then,

                        and only then

            will she risk to birth again.

In 2016, for the first time, I began to dare to believe that the dream[1] might once again see the light of day.  It was election time and there seemed to be a feeling of hope that change, and change for the better, would occur:  that human impact on the environment and climate might be taken seriously.  The results of the election spoke, my hope was not realised, and in response I wrote TheHidden: Illusions, Crossroads and Winter, which concluded with the above poem.

Then, this year another election was held with at least two parties seeming to stand on platforms that addressed climate change, sustainability and other issues of concern, especially regarding recognition of our First Peoples 60,000 to 120,000 years of existence in this land, so hope raised its head once more.  Once again I, and many others, was disappointed.  The voters had spoken, and they spoke of favouring profit-making, financial security and trade in fossil fuels over the health of our planet and its people.

From the perspective of what is emerging in new science theory this is understandable.  Believing in something solid with perceived predictable outcomes is linear thinking: the type of thinking that underlies much early physics and economic prediction, and preferred by many humans as it promises a more stable outcome, even if the promise is illusory. [2] 

In this context it is interesting to read Nola Turner-Jenkins research and writing on the differences between, and implications of, the individualistic and linear mindset of Anglo-Saxon, Germanic, Roman, Celtic cultures of many Colonial Heritage Australians compared to a group-oriented mindset of Indigenous people in Australia and around the world.[3]

So, in disbelief, mourning, and a need to clear my head after the results of the election, I began to read a couple of books on new physics that had come my way.  Inspired, I then revisited notes and books which I had read years ago, with topics which include cellular biology, quantum mechanics, chaos theory, theories of multiple or parallel universes, and theories of the universe as one infinite information processing system.[4]

Words and phrases that jumped from the page and reverberated include,

complexity	erratic	intermittent
Initial conditions	non linearity	continuum
disorder	periodicy	transdisciplinarity
chaos has no solution or it would not be chaos
critical point
unique

Brian Greene's writing reminded me how unique our world is and how amazing it is that we are just the right distance from the sun to support life.  ‘We find ourselves on one such planet situated 93 million miles from our sun because that’s a planet on which our form of life could evolve.’ (2011:170)

I also enjoyed rereading that everything in the cosmos is made from the same basic ingredients, that humans share elements of the same DNA as our ancestral bacteria, the first living entity, and that at the micro-level we are all connected.  So, we are definitely not alone.  We are in this together. 

This engendered the thought that, assuming humans have evolved from ancestral bacteria, and that humans are the most complex living system so far, what if the whole of the sentient world (plants, animals, bacteria) was relying on us to ensure maximum survival of all?  What if this was our main purpose and function?  How then would that affect how we act and make decisions?  We humans do rely on the support of our natural ecosystems to continue our own life, and if the reverse is also true?  However viewing how science is theorising the way systems are working, I doubt that there is such a linear plan in place.  But you never know.

It was also comforting to remember that everything in the cosmos, at every level, actually just does what it thinks it should do, intuitively, and somewhere, somehow, things get worked out.  It may not be to my or your liking in the short term, but that does not matter in the micro-, macro-, and lived worlds.  It’s not about being programmed in a certain way either, because there are always glitches in the program or system which will sooner or later change where things end up anyway.  It was quite freeing to realise this and that the choices we make and options we take are not given a value of ‘right’ or ‘wrong’.  They just are and the ‘whole’ will readjust to accommodate them.

I cannot say that the books and articles, fascinating as they are, have given me hope that anything will change in the way that I and many others want.  What they have given is the realisation that ‘all is as it should be’;  that  nothing in this world is in neat packages and as well controlled as those of us with a linear Western mindframe would like to believe. 

The ‘norm’ in all things, from ecological systems to weather patterns, to economics, to cellular and human behaviour seems to be an ‘ordered chaos’ and open ended.  In other words, the longterm results can never really be predicted.[5]  Even if change is on the horizon we may not even know or recognise it as the system will swing backwards and forwards until a critical point is reached.  Only then will a new way of functioning become, momentarily, the new ‘norm’.

The poem heading this article was written at the end of the performed series that comprised part A of my thesis.  Part B was the written analysis and exposition titled, Centre of the Storm.  The title was a spiritual concept: the still point at the centre of chaos[6].  The poem ended the performance series and was a time to let go on many levels, including the desire for, and dream of, Nirvana.  I now realise it was an unrealistic and unrealisable dream which assumed universal like-mindedness.  I had not at that time come to the point of understanding what the concept of chaos really represented, or how it is an integral part of the functioning of the cosmos.

Now I consider chaos as something to sit alongside, like a friend, and have a conversation: actively involved, having input, letting go of expectations and the need for control, withdrawing, and being happy and content with whatever the outcome may be, even if ‘I’ don’t like it.  The outcome is likely to be continually changing anyway.  This seems to be a much more open, flexible, give and take position, and more realistic. [7]

All of this has strengthened my conviction that what we do and think individually can matter.  Even if on one level it may not matter at all, at another level it does.  And, for me, that has reinforced my determination to continue with what ‘I’ believe in and to be true to myself, because my actions and thoughts will continue to input into the whole, and the working out of the whole.  And that is important.  You never know, maybe the ‘like-mes’ will reach critical mass and the outcome will be extraordinary…or maybe not.

And ‘hope’?  I am so in awe and proud of the 21^st century youth who are no longer waiting for our beleaguered leadership to wake up to what is occurring in the world and put some workable solutions in place.  These young people are just going for it, from climate change to Indigenous recognition and respect.  They are standing as examples for the rest of us.

There are also many other individuals, groups, businesses, cities and local councils who are not waiting for larger political parties to make a commitment.  They are forging ahead and putting programs in place and acting in ways that they believe will make a difference.  It is chaos at work – everyone doing what they instinctively believe should be done, whether they believe it will make a difference or not. This is what gives me hope. [8]

c. Annette Maie, 2019

ADDENDUM 2020: regarding interconnectedness.  I recently read research which suggests that some galaxies in the universe may be in some way connected, align and move together in a way which is different to the effects of gravitation pull.  It may be that at the macro as well as the micro level we are connected, can 'dance together', and perhaps influence each other (Reference, There’s Growing Evidence That the Universe Is Connected by Giant Structures).  There are also the similarities researchers are finding in brain-nature and cosmos networks and networking. Does the Human Brain Resemblethe Universe and Never Underestimate the Intelligence of Trees.  I so like Jeremy Lent's idea of viewing nature as an improvising jazz band, although in my case it would be a group of us improvising in dance, drama or text.

Of course these concepts seem to underlie Indigenous Australian culture and spirituality, as explored and explained in Vicki Greives Williams, Aboriginal Spirituality: Aboriginal Philosophy The Basis ofAboriginal Social and Emotional Wellbeing, and Tyson Yunkaporta’s sand talk: How Indigenous Thinking Can Save the World

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[1] I identified the ‘dream’ as a quest for Nirvana: a perfect world of peace, plenty, contentment and ‘goodwill to all’.

[2] Hence the rejection by the establishment of theoreticians who were questioning the earlier work.

[3] such as, https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/literal-mindset-nola-turner-jensen/

and https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/australias-two-systemic-strangers-nola-turner-jensen/ in which 'literal', 'linear' and 'individualist' behaviour is compared to 'instinctive', 'interdependent' and 'collective-first'.

[4] Books and articles include, 1976   Richard Dawkins, The Selfish Gene; 1985 Evelyn Shaw & Joan Darling, Strategies of Being Female; 1987 James Gleick, Chaos; 1989 Michael Archer, Gods, Gaia & the Wound of Heaven (article in Australian Natural History); 1990 Paul Davies, Chaos frees the Universe (article in New Scientist); 1991 Andrew Wilson, Gaia (article in New Scientist); 1991 Deirdre Machen, Science Friction (article on transdisciplinarity in SMH Good Weekend); 1992 Paul Davies and John Gibbon, The Matter Myth; 1993 Leon Lederman, The God Particle; 1998 Paul Davies, The Fifth Miracle; 2002 Basarab Nicolescu, Manifesto of Transdisciplinarity; 2005 Bruce H. Lipton, The Biology of Belief; 2011 Brian Green, The Hidden Reality; 2019 Stuart Wolpert, Einsten’s general relativitytheory (article on the work of Andrea Ghez and black holes from newsroom of UCLA), ; 2019 Elise Crull, If You Thought Quantum Mechanics Was Weird, You Need to Check OutEntangled Time; 2019 Ed Yong, A New Clue to How Life Originated (on the work of Caitlin Cornell and Sarah Keller  on cellular cooperation).

[5] I have previously explored this concept in The Trickster on a Tightrope: on being 'in between', autumn and time forreflection

[6] ‘Chaos can exist without losing ‘the still centre’’, Centre of the Storm, p.280
[7]excited to read of the work of Dr. Claire Weekes, whose treatment process for anxiety was to face, accept, float and let time pass.

[8] such as TreeSisters, The Climate Factory, ark2030.  Then there is TheImagination Declaration of the Youth Forum at Garma 2019, Indigenous Australian Youth Addresses UN, and of course the Global Climate Strike.  Also impressed by UNICEF's Executive Director, Henrietta H. Fore's An open Letter to the world's children.

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The Hidden: Illusions, Crossroads, and Winter

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It’s winter.  When I began blogging I did not plan or expect to return to the theme of seasonal cycles[i].  I expected to leave it behind...but I have returned and it has been relevant.

Autumn, one of the themes in my previous blog, ended up being the time when we as a family sorted and cleared out my mother’s belongings and home.  So many memories...so much to let go...perfectly timed for autumn.

It was fitting, then, that we closed the door on our family home for the last time in winter;  the time when all withdraws and seems dead and gone, and the seeds of new life are hidden...stirring unnoticed.

The house was, for me, a symbol of my parents hopes and dreams for themselves and their family, some which were fulfilled, others not.  My dad built the house himself with the help of family and friends;  something he might not have been able to do with current council regulations.  Every brick, every plank, every nail, a commitment to this future.

I think I was four when it was being built and my sister was born not long after. So it has been the centre of family and extended family life for over sixty years.  Dad died there and mum managed to live there, with much assistance from carers and family, up to two weeks before she too died.  Yes, many memories.

I’ve made a collage of photos of them both which traces moments of their lives, from the time they met to their old age.  All photos show them smiling together at the camera:  pictures of happiness and contentment.  Of course life is not like that.  It's more complicated.  We all conceal our hidden stories from the camera if we can.  The resulting pictures are illusions.  But the illusion is what I have chosen to remember, and we choose to remember.  Our choice, as individuals and as humans, seems to be to ignore those things which challenge our idealised beliefs about ourselves and those we love.  We would rather believe the illusion.

In Australia we have experienced a mid-winter election; aimed at triggering the end of the old government mix and beginning of a new.  It ended up a close brush with a ‘hung parliament’;  not at all what the government expected.  The people spoke and they spoke of hidden dissatisfaction with the offerings of the two major parties, especially with ‘the economy’ and ‘balancing books’ being presented as the only platform promoted by the political right.  Noticeably absent from the two major parties were any references to ‘global warming’, sustainability or environmental issues. What we have ended up with is more of a mixed Senate than before:  many voices and perspectives needing to be acknowledged and accommodated.   Perhaps there is hope for serious and in depth debate.

Simultaneously I have been reading Naomi Klein’s This Changes Everything[ii].   What a revelation:  the hidden world of fossil fuel extraction, pollution and Green politics.  What shocked me most was to learn that the fossil fuel industry is not only driven by human need for fuel but by the need to put as much excess as possible into storage to increase share prices...and that the pollution, especially as a result of dirty fuel extraction as easy fuel sources decline, will be continuing to manifest over years because the effects on the environment and animals sometimes takes time to exhibit fully (read the book for the details).  We only need to look at what is happening to Australia’s once ‘Great’ Barrier Reef.  As respected and awarded marine biologist Frank Talbot has said,

 

‘The reef is the bellwether of the health of our oceans...We should take the bleaching as a major statement by the reef that what is happening is real and damaging, and it needs to be addressed’. (Frank Talbot, 2016)[iii]

The other unexpected shock was of those global Green groups who have fossil fuel representatives on their boards and have been compromised.  And yes, there is more, much more.  Yet not all filters through to the general public.  Every now and again there may be a crisis or someone notable speaks up and makes the news, but it doesn’t last long and it is forgotten the next day.

Our planet seems to be in so much difficulty in so many places it is not overstating to say that it is reaching, or has reached, its dying phase.  We have not yet solved the contradiction between the lifestyle of excess the developed world has created and the resulting exponentially increasing pollution, global warming, and dying of species.  We have compromised our, and others’, food sources and environments needed for longterm survival, and we do not seem to be exhibiting any interest in actively redressing it. We prefer the illusion that ‘all is well’ and even though alternatives are ready to be put into place, there does not seem to be the political or public will to face the problem head on and take action.[iv]

At the core of Klein’s writing is the assertion that humans have a moral and ideological problem, and that only a change in the current global philosophy of domination, control, and growth at all costs will result in a sustainable future for the planet and ourselves.  It is disappointing, frustrating and concerning to read again of issues which have already been addressed extensively in writing on this topic from the 1960’s onward.  To mention a few,

‘..the moral imperative of respect for life...the need for population control and for bringing a halt to the waste of resources and pollution of the environment...we are split against ourselves...’ (Mary Daly, 1973[v]... a theme she returned to in subsequent publications)

‘I share the conviction that the crisis that threatens the destruction of the earth is not only social, political, economic, and theological, but is at root spiritual.’ (Carolyn Christ, 1989)[vi]

‘...I believe that the metaphor of dancing could prove helpful in articulating and enacting a different kind of rationality, an ecosophical ratio, which might better equip us for safeguarding life in a perilously warming world’ (Kate Rigby, 2009[vii])

And in the fourth or third century BCE, writing attributed to Lao-Tzu,[viii].

Governing people and serving heaven

   Is like living off the land.

Living sparingly and responding quickly

Means accumulating TE

There is nothing than cannot be overcome.

There is no limit.

You can become the country

And the country’s mother,

And nourish and extend it.

This is called deep roots, firm base.

Shih wei shen ken du ti

This is the TAO of living long and seeing far.

At the beginning of this blog I have placed a photo which expresses, for me, our winter sky.  It could have been taken anywhere;  that is the illusion.  It is cropped.  If you pan back there is a clothesline, which places the photographer in a backyard...somewhere.

Further back and there are apartment buildings.  We are definitely in suburbia, perhaps the city.

Further still and the sky is now background...a distant memory.

We seem so far removed from the natural world in our daily lives.  That too is an illusion for we are, in reality, totally dependent on it for survival.  How do we refocus?  How can we be motivated to care...and act?

In 2000 I wrote the following,

Once I had a dream

   a dream of Nirvana

                   of Eden before the Fall

                                   of a time when...            

   And I believed as I believed others believed

   that if I searched I would find the truth

                   of this perfect beginning of all things

                                   culmination of all things

                                                   fulfilment of all things

  

   But the truth that was revealed did not match the dream

   and nomatter how close I came to the dream

   it remained just

                   out of reach

                                   out of touch

   with the reality of the truth revealed.

   So we have made a pact the dream and I

   She had shed her half bloomed petals

   revealing her centre

                   her heart

                                   her potential

                                                   her seed.

   And I have taken this seed and hidden her

   in the deepest recesses of my womb.

   For we have made a pact the dream and I

   and we will love, nurture and protect each other

   until the time is right

   and then,

                   and only then

   will she risk to birth again.

We are at the crossroads and have been for a while.  Do we take it seriously or will it be ‘business as usual and let tomorrow look after itself’?  We may not be able to solve the problems of other nations or the world, but in our own backyard?  Surely that is possible.

In 1999 I wrote,

Midwinter,

                   the time of magic,

                   the time of conception:

                   that hidden unseen, unnoticed change when life begins

                                                and the potential to be...is

Winter is the time for new beginnings.  If only we could say, mean and commit to, 'this time I/we will take the road to recovery'.

c. Annette Maie, 2016

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[i] One of the underlying themes of my thesis,2002

[ii] Naomi Klein, This Changes Everything: Capitalism vs. the Climate. Penguin, 2014

[iii] Frank Talbot interviewed in The Australian, Wednesday July 6 2016.

[iv] The other night a friend told me of a family member who, I think this is correct, completed his solar engineering degree only to have to retrain in an alternative field because of the government’s backsteps on global warming...and that he was one of many in the same boat.

[v] Mary Daly, Beyond God the Father.

[vi] in Plaskow & Christ, Weaving the Visions, New Patterns in feminist Spirituality

[vii] Kate Rigby, ‘Dancing With Disaster’ in Ecological Humanities, Issue 46.  The full title of her book, Dancing With Disaster: Environmental Histories, Narratives, and Ethics for Perilous Times.

[viii] from Stephen Addiss & Stanley Lombardo’s translation of Tao Te Ching, 1993

The Fire of the Sun: summer, festivals and Australia - 2022 update

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We’re heading to that time again, the great festive season of Christmas/Xmas and New Year.

For a number of years I have viewed these events as misplaced in Australia, as none are indigenous.  That is, none have emerged from, relate to, or express a culture and spirituality relevant to the land we call Australia or its cycle of seasonal change.  Rather, the dating of these events is set by the calendar and the content influenced by north European and American tradition.

The Dharawal people just south of Sydney traditionally marked this time of the year as;

• the end of Parra'dowee - the season of Goray'murrai (warm and wet) "This season begins with the Great Eel Spirit calling his children to him, and the eels which are ready to mate make their way down the rivers and creeks to the ocean.  It is the time of the blooming of the Kai'arrewan (Acacia binervia) which announces the occurrence of fish in the bays";
• and the beginning of Burran - the season of Gadalung Marool (hot and dry).  "The behaviour of the male kangaroos becomes quite aggressive in this season, and it is a sign that the eating of meat is forbidden during this time. This is a health factor; because of the heat of the day meat does not keep, and the likelihood of food poisoning is apparent..  The blooming of the Weetjellan (Acacia implexa) is an important sign that fires must not be lit unless they are well away from bushland and on sand only, and that there will be violent storms and heavy rain, so camping near creeks and rivers is not recommended."  (Bureau of Meteorology)

I have also, from time to time, been motivated to invent alternatives which attempt to address this anomaly.  One of these being The Fire of the Sun: a performed event expressed in video, of an internal, intellectual historical and spiritual exploration around the theme of summer.  More recently I’ve been rethinking what, in fact, the popularity and persistence of the festivities could be expressing about us; what their significance might be.  We are all, in any case, mistresses and masters of invention, and we love creating ‘significance’, and I believe that values and ideals are integral to this process.

City life does a good job of shielding us from seasonal cycles.  All, or almost all, varieties of foodstuffs are available all year round.  We protect ourselves from most extreme weather with air conditioners, heaters, fans and storm-proof buildings.  We block our minds from the world outside, absorbed by our mobiles, ipads and notebooks.  So why should I...we...wonder that our festivals do the same:  that they ignore the land and season in which they are set?

For many years the first celebration of the festive season was Carols by Candlelight followed by Christmas/Xmas Day and then New Year’s Eve.  More recently the Summer Solstice and Chinese New Year have been added to the Australian mix.  The following discussion around these events is, to quote, ‘in no particular order’.

Christmas Day is the date selected by the christian church to mark and celebrate the birth of Jesus of Nazareth.(*1)  Part of Jesus’ story is one of caring for and encouraging the poor and dispossessed, of working for peace, and of functioning as a co-operative community which shares resources and wealth.  Christian church rituals mark the importance of the occasion in different ways.  Some use special colours, candles, incense, song, music, gesture, poetry (psalms), prayer, movement and a focal setting of the baby Jesus or a creche.  Others reject all forms of outward show.

For non-believers the day is designated Xmas.  It is marked, not by a formal church ritual, but by informal gatherings of families and friends, usually around a meal where copious amounts of food and drink are consumed, gifts are exchanged, and a good time is had by all, family disputes aside.  In spite of the associated commercialism around this time, our celebration of Xmas seems to signify that we do believe families and friends are important and need to be nurtured;  supporting the Christian ideal that a co-operative community is a better way to live than isolated individualism.  

The gift-giving, food and drink can be interpreted as symbols of the ideal of sharing resources and wealth.  The laughter and relaxed conversation can be examples of peace-making, temporary though they may be.  Discussion around politics and religion, which tend to be divisive, are usually tabu, but not in the sacred sense.

Households also mark the day with special colours, decorations, costumes, candles, incense, and maybe also singing, music and dance.  The trappings and symbols of Xmas are also infiltrating other parts the world, as the commercial value of doing so is recognised.  Xmas is becoming global.  In contrast to many church rituals most of these family events are high energy and secular in nature, with limited reference to an ‘other’, or ‘god’.

Preceding Christmas/Xmas is Carols by Candlelight.  My reading of this event is that it has gradually blended the sacred and the secular.  Whether we and our families believe or not it is possible to feel comfortable participating in this event, be inspired by its performances, and join in the carols.  The overriding theme, ‘peace on earth and goodwill to all’, is a relevant ideal for believers and non.

The commentators in the televised commercial versions have referred to values and ideals such as peace, harmony, co-operation, community, and sharing.  The timing of the event for the evening and the candles that are held create ‘magic’, that is, something beyond the everyday (although in future this may be superseded by mobile phone lights and apps).  The event may have been taken over by large corporations and television networks promotional needs, yet the sense of magic, mystery and goodwill remains.

Then there is Hanukkah/Channuka, the Jewish festival of lights which begins on the twenty fifth day of the Jewish calendar month of Kislev.  In 2022 it falls on 18th December at dusk with the lighting of the first candle on the menorah.  Hannukkah celebrates the rededication of the Temple of Jerusalem after the defeat of the Greek army - the triumph of light over darkness - and continues until 26 December.  As well as the lighting of a candle each day special foods such as potato pancakes and jam-filled donuts may be prepared for family and community gatherings.

Also preceding Christmas/Xmas is the solstice.  In Australia it is the summer solstice and our longest day: the time when the tilt of the planet allows for direct access for the sun's rays.  Many today acknowledge this event with ritual and celebration - remembering and perhaps reinventing old European tradition when the summer solstice was celebrated with fire.   This is an apt concept for Australia as here it is the time when all those who live near or in the bush have their strategies in place ready for the impending fire season. The summer solstice also marks the time after which we begin our slow withdrawal from the sun direct rays and experience its diminishing influence.

As it takes a while for the effects of this withdrawal to impact on our part of the planet our experience of summer remains heat and high energy for a number of months.  It is also the long break from school and university, and the time when everyone is outside and enjoying what our country and culture has to offer. 

Then there is New Year’s Eve; the night of fire-works.  New Year’s Eve celebrations are now global.  Advances in technology and communication mean that the major cities in most countries on our planet are able to participate in an extended celebration which follows the moment of temporal change as the earth spins on its axis.  While many cultures’ indigenous traditional new year celebrations are not yet lost, the addition of the calendar New Year is a celebration of our global community:  one during which all differences are momentarily set aside as we co-operate for the same purpose.

This simultaneity presents an opportunity for individuals and groups all over the world to move further towards the ideal of ‘global community’; beyond race, religion and difference.  In my view, that is something worth celebrating in spite of associated commercialism and corporate manipulation.  It is, after all, our individual choice how much we engage in the excesses.

More recently the Chinese Lunar New Year celebrations and parade have been added to the mix.  Although culturally specific it is quite a fitting end and farewell to the summer festivities.  It too is becoming a global event, accompanying Chinese migration and business interests.

The high energy celebrations of Xmas, New Year and Chinese New Year are well placed in the season of summer, with the summer solstice, Carols by Candlelight and Christ-mas day celebrations offering space and time for reflection.  In Australian we have taken these disparate events on board and created a continuum which has ended up being a wonderful celebration of the natural season in which they are placed: summer.(*2, *3)

I am intrigued by reading about the Afro-American diaspora festival of Kwanzaa from 26 December to 1 January; devised as an alternative to the commercialism of Xmas.  Supposedly it has taken African symbols (such as crops, mat, multi-candle holder, corn/maize, gifts, unity cup and seven candles) and values and associated ideals (including collective labour, self-actualization,  self-determination, cooperative economics, ancestry, creativity, faith, commitment of parents to children) and worked them into contemporary American life.

In spite of the danger that I may have misunderstood and misinterpreted Kwanzaa, I have been inspired by the concept.  Our festivals also have the potential to be reinterpreted to signify deeper values and ideals. Those I have mentioned previously include peace, harmony, community and sharing of resources.  If it is not overly stretching we may also include,

sun/summer = symbol of our origin and source of energy;

food = symbol of our need to care for our food sources as well as the biodiversity and ecology which guarantees their and our health and survival;

gathering = symbol that we are one of many and that the success and survival of the group is as important as individual achievement;

gifts = symbol that we are willing to give and take as we share resources;

candles = symbol of the continuance of life, our ancestors, and that there may be more to life than what we can see;

children = symbol of our dreams and hopes for the future;

drink = symbol of our commitment to life.

Giving deeper meanings to our actions, our hopes and our ideals is what humans have done for centuries.  Whether we consciously continue to do this today is in some ways irrelevant. The fact is that we view celebratory events such as these as important enough to continue to engage in and extend them.  That speaks volumes.

c. Annette Maie, 2015, 2022

*1.  Some orthodox churches celebrate Christmas on 7th January and New Year on 14th January, depending which versions of the Gregorian or Julian calendars they are following.

*2.  Tu B'Shavut (Abor Day or New Year For Trees that bear fruit and nuts) is also celebrated by some members of the Jewish community on 25 January.  This fits well into this season when we are enjoying the sweet summer fruits.

*3. The only day I have not included during this period is the 26^th January, the date officially designated as Australia Day.  I have not included it as I remain conflicted about a day which marks the beginning of British conquest of the land and the colonisation, slavery and murder of the original inhabitants, being promoted as a day to celebrate 'being Australian’.   Yabun, a celebration of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture on the same day, the smoking ceremonies that have recently been introduced around the harbour and the Vigil the night before, counters this somewhat.  I have written more on this, Australia Day: conflicts and alternatives

2016 Postscript.  While clearing the last of my fathers papers recently I came across an email describing one of his Xmases in the POW camps.  I have uploaded it on Wordpress - 'Rusty' Rups' Xmas in the Camps 1942-1944

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