“We welcome summer and the glorious
blessing of light. We are rich with light;
we are loved by the sun. Let us empty our
hearts into the brilliance. Let us pour our
darkness into the glorious, forgiving light.
For this loving abundance let us give thanks
And offer our joy.
Amen”
(Leunig, The Prayer Tree)
I can feel Summer in the air! My garden is going crazy with weeds and Spring’s seeding is now in bloom with amazing vitality. That light invites so much activity to happen – new ventures and adventures – racing outdoors, jumping into oceans, walking those bush tracks… But I can also feel that the ‘heat is on’: I have just bought a dreadful huge hat, screamed at my first snake on the path, the dam is evaporating fast, the rains are a sprinkle if any, hot dusty winds bring on hay-fever and fan dreaded fires.
Summer invites us to hold our lives paradoxically – relishing expansion, growth and at the same time conserving with needed care. When we feel like being outside ‘doing’, the hot days tell us to go indoors, protect our skins and health before we boil or are spent!
Each of us is confronted by this ‘heat’, which is now also recognized as ‘global warming’, and we are told, ‘it’s going to get much worse unless we change now with great care’. I was shocked by a recent ABC documentary on ‘Natural Disasters Waiting to Happen’, on hearing that only a few years ago and within a period of 3 days, 15,000 people died of extreme heat in France, mostly the elderly, sick and disabled.
It makes me wonder are we prepared in our daily lives, our health and relationships and in this beautiful and fragile country? Global warming and the power of summer’s energy drain, compel us to care, to protect and to act sustainably. Somehow just an artificial air conditioner may not solve the everyday or unpredictable future. Slowing down, reducing, savouring, conserving energy, and remembering the what and who in our lives are indeed precious, is being asked of all of us…and not just for the short term!
“The ultimate measure of people is not where they stand in moments of comfort and convenience, but where they stand at times of challenge and controversy.” – Dr Martin Luther King Jr