At a certain
point you say
to the woods, to the sea,
to the mountains,
the world,
Now I am ready.
Now I will stop and be wholly attentive.
You empty yourself and wait,
listening...
Annie Dillard
We, in
Australia, are all
aware of the suffering caused by the severe draught our country has been
experiencing. Having recently been in the USA,
RSCJ there were also moved by our
situation.
We here at Kerever
Park looked to see what kind of relief we could offer.
The
farmers particularly have been under pressure from lack of water which has meant
they could not produce and this has led to some experiencing depression and even
leading to suicide. There are some children, aged four who have never seen rain
which gives us some idea of the hardships these men and women are living daily.
As this is a spirituality centre where food and accommodation are provided we
decided to offer a “get away” to needy wives, where they could have a “Time for
Self” expense free. Through the Salvation Army and district nurse, six women
were identified and they came to stay for three days. The Salvation Army paid
for the petrol to transport the women while local hairdressers and health
services gave freely their expertise in massage, manicures, hair styling etc.
Coffee shops donated a morning tea and a restaurant donated a dinner. Some of
these women had never had such attention of if they had it was over ten years
ago. We did not try to give them lavish times but simple walks and a visit to
Fitzroy Falls, reading spaces and conversation corners.
Their
stories were heart wrenching and we provided listening hearts to their stories,
but although they thanked us we felt we were the ones who had benefited. The
contact with these women will continue and they have suggested some families
needing this “get way” to a safe place which is simple but beautiful. Our next
venture will be to offer some such holiday to a couple of families at a time.
We were so grateful for the generosity of local firms who when approached to
assist us in this small venture where more than ready to offer their services
free of charge.
Betty McMahon, RSCJ – Kerever Park Spirituality Centre.