By Helen Heath OAM, executive officer of Interfaith Network of the City of Greater Dandenong
Little green weeds growing through cracks in the concrete pavement are considered unsightly, a nuisance, needing to be pulled out – or even worse, sprayed, to be obliterated.
However, as a source of amazement, and more like frustration to many, they return and often at the same spot.
Recently we were all shaken, literally, by an earthquake.
Through my feet I felt the concrete base of the garage ripple and saw the car next to me shake before it registered what was happening.
Thankfully it seems there has been little damage – at least to physical structures.
But the timing of this unsought event came when, as a community, we are already enduring the ongoing daily stress of Covid and all its upheaval.
Yet another ‘thing’ to cope with!
How do we endure, if we can, survive and work with any added stresses that come without warning while we all feel so fragile?
That little green weed gives me pause for thought as it struggles through sometimes the smallest fissure in the concrete.
Even a hefty slab of cement does not prevent the littlest, softest sprig from weaving its way upwards to the light from a scrappy fragment of soil underneath and rupturing upwards to announce its presence to all passers-by.
While for many finding this weedy fault is irksome, the resilience of such an obscure anomaly is admirable.
How does this tiny piece of life force continue to grow against all odds?
It has been said that “big breaks come from small fractures” (John Kapelso).
Maybe the way we reframe what has happened and continues to happen is how we become more able to withstand some of the cracks that erupt in our lives and in community.
A break or pause from our usual way of thinking and feeling about things provides a breathing space to reconsider.
Deliberately seeking the smallest, worthwhile thing that brings joy – even mingled with fatigue – can revive our wilted spirits somewhat.
Leonard Cohen in his song Anthem has these lines:
“Ring the bells that still can ring
Forget your perfect offering
There is a crack, a crack in everything
That’s how the light gets in”
Let us work towards the light, of not finding fault with everything and everyone, tempting as this is under such sustained stress.
Let us purposefully seek to focus on what brings us together rather than what pulls us apart.
Let us imagine, and believe, that encircling each other with friendship does indeed offer a light for dwindling spirits to blossom.
May you be blessed with peace and hope amid whatever weeds are present in your daily lives.
