Making the unseen, seen and indeed heard…
There is a referendum in Australia for a representative voice of aboriginal in parliament. to be constituted.
As I understand it, they are currently represented alongside everyone else. The referendum is for specific representation of aboriginal voices on specific issues, in recognition of the strike and deep rooted disadvantages that aboriginal face as a result of their historical treatment.
By all indications, the referendum is likely to result in a No vote. It’s a shame, a Yes vote would not have given them rights above anyone else when it comes to decision making. It would have just meant that special attention would have been given to them when it comes to issues that disproportionately affect them. Something that I hope still happens.
We are only as strong as our weakest link and the challenges that affect one, inadvertently affect all.
Further, the people we ignore, reject and overlook have so much to offer… often that which we have most need off.
This was brought to the fore for me by the words of Aboriginal activist, Miriam-Rose Ungunmerr-Baumann.
"My people are not threatened by silence. They are completely at home in it. They have lived for thousands of years with Nature’s quietness. My people today recognise and experience in this quietness the great Life-Giving Spirit, the Father of us all. It is easy for me to experience God’s presence. When I am out hunting, when I am in the bush, among the trees, on a hill or by a billabong; these are the times when I can simply be in God’s presence. My people have been so aware of Nature. It is natural that we will feel close to the Creator. Our Aboriginal culture has taught us to be still and to wait. We do not try to hurry things up. We let them follow their natural course – like the seasons. We watch the moon in each of its phases. We wait for the rain to fill our rivers and water the thirsty earth…
When twilight comes, we prepare for the night. At dawn we rise with the sun.
We watch the bush foods and wait for them to ripen before we gather them. We wait for our young people as they grow, stage by stage, through their initiation ceremonies. When a relation dies, we wait a long time with the sorrow. We own our grief and allow it to heal slowly.
We wait for the right time for our ceremonies and our meetings. The right people must be present. Everything must be done in the proper way. Careful preparations must be made. We don’t mind waiting, because we want things to be done with care.
We don’t like to hurry. There is nothing more important than what we are attending to. There is nothing more urgent that we must hurry away for.
We wait on God, too. His time is the right time. We wait for him to make his word clear to us. We don’t worry. We know that in time and in the spirit of dadirri (that deep listening and quiet stillness) his way will be clear.
We are river people. We cannot hurry the river. We have to move with its current and understand its ways.
We hope that the people of Australia will wait. Not so much waiting for us – to catch up – but waiting with us, as we find our pace in this world.
If you stay closely united, you are like a tree, standing in the middle of a bushfire sweeping through the timber. The leaves are scorched and the tough bark is scarred and burnt; but inside the tree the sap is still flowing, and under the ground the roots are still strong. Like that tree, you have endured the flames, and you still have the power to be reborn.
Our culture is different. We are asking our fellow Australians to take time to know us; to be still and to listen to us."
In the aboriginals, as that of other indigenous tribes may be the solutions that we all need in a world of ever growing complexity and change. It’s not just indigenous tribes that may hold the solutions that we all need. It could also be the child bullied by his contemporaries, the homeless man on the street or the person who sits quietly in the office corner observing everything going by.
I’ve in the past been commended for making the complex simple and for making the unseen, seen.
What or who are you failing to see that could hold the key to your problems? Do let me know if I can help you in seeing that which you need to see.
Susan Popoola MA CIPD FRSA Human Value Optimisation Maximising Productivity | Leveraging The Value of People Mobile: +44 (0) 7957 743022 Email: Susan@MosaicWorld.live www.MosaicWorld.live