Twelve months ago, many members of Eremos were deeply affected or touched by the devastation of the Victorian bushfires. At that time, we responded by posting a Lament, Affirmation and Blessing, offered by Sue Emeleus and Dorothy McRae-McMahon on our website.
As we remember the anniversary this weekend, we invite you to read the following reflection by Liz Budd Ellmann, Executive Director of Spiritual Directors International. http://info.sdiworld.org/
Sometimes my heart aches. I need to cry, yet I can’t access the tears welling up behind my eyes and surrounding my heart. I know a deep cry would help me connect with God, yet I can’t remember how.I had one of those experiences during the Parliament of the World’s Religions in December. Presence editorial review panelist, Jack Stuart graciously drove me many miles north of Melbourne, Australia to visit SDI member, Diana Cherry, who survived the devastating bushfires of Black Saturday (February 7, 2009). Scores of people died. Only seven homes remain in Diana’s community where hundreds of families used to live. Diana and her husband Ed told the story of the roaring fire that swallowed up their community. In the aftermath of horrific tragedy, they are--one day at a time--spiritually companioning their devastated community through death into life.
My heart ached when Diana took us to a ridge lookout. We saw charred forests and burnt homes for many kilometres in every direction. Peculiar, rotting smells of death entered my nose and heart. A sooty black picnic table where friends once shared laughter entered my sight and soul. An uneasy silence entered my ears and hung in the air where brilliantly colored parrots and bright-white cockatoos normally would be heard squawking in the treetops.
“Forgive us for we know not what we do.”
I prayed to the trees with my broken heart. I tried to pray for the arsonist who ignited the fires, and quickly realized I was too sad and in shock to pray for the perpetrator. How could someone do this to the helpless neighbors of Diana and Ed, including the powerless trees, wombats, wallabies, koalas, and lyrebirds that they dearly love? Inaccessible tears pooled behind my eyes.
As we left the ridge, I noticed stringy, peeling bark in a grove of scorched gum trees. Grateful to be with fellow spiritual companions, we paused together to watch the long strands of hanging bark gently blow in the wind. The trees were shedding their layers of protection, trusting that new bark would grow. Their compassion was palpable, each tree being present to the other, teaching me to trust the love in heartache and loss, bringing my tears closer to the surface.
Dead bark quietly and tenderly wafted in the wind, reminding me of Tibetan prayer flags, sending blessings on the breeze. In that moment, my heart opened to the love, resilience, and grace of the gum trees, reconnecting me to the cycle of life. Together we listened to the prayers of the trees, and the trees listened to our prayers, dissolving in the wind, filling all spaces with an eternal love found in the gift of communal heartache and tears. How do you listen with compassion to the heartache and gift of tears of your own life and the lives of people you accompany in spiritual direction?
Especially after the recent devastating earthquake in Haiti, how are you caring for your sensitive heart and journeying with others who may be struggling to make meaning in the aftershocks of heart-wrenching destruction?
In the comments section on the blog, please share your thoughts.
Excerpt from www.sdiworld.org blog, TRUST THE LOVE IN HEARTACHE by Liz Budd Ellmann, MDiv (Spiritual Directors International Ó 2010). Used with permission of Spiritual Directors International.
To read the original 2009 Eremos website article, click here http://www.eremos.org.au/news/lament-for-the-victorian-bushfire-situation