~ I have said it before, but it doesn’t hurt to repeat it from time to time: the world
really is a beautiful place, and the two films I have selected today for the
Monday Movies reflect that very much. The first is a stunning seven minute NASA video of footage
shot from the international space station and presumably from various Space
Shuttle flights. The video is narrated by Dr. Justin Wilkinson from NASA's
astronaut team.
In the film you can see some of the planet’s most impressive
landscapes, including the coast of Namibia, Tunisia and Madagascar, along with
Sicily, China, the Zagros mountains in Iran, Australia’s Gulf of Carpenteria,
and the Great Salt Lake in Utah to name some of the birds-eye views on offer.
The second video is less than three minutes in length, but
shows a full year in the life of our nearest neighbour – the moon. The
time-lapse footage is quite hypnotic, but for me the real impact comes from
comparing the views that both films offer of life in our universe. The stark
contrast between the ever changing, blue, green and red landscape that is our
beautiful planet, with that of the bare pockmarked surface of the moon, is
frighteningly obvious.
As I said about another recent Monday Movie featuring
different footage from the International Space Station:
"... if you think we humans are going to find a
better place elsewhere in the universe – you are kidding yourself. This is it.
This really is as good as it gets, and the sooner we accept that, the sooner we
can focus on protecting the planet, and doing everything possible to ensure it,
and we, survive for many future generations."
Touring The Earth From Space
-o0o-
A Year in The Life of The Moon
If you were stuck somewhere far away from the recent lunar
eclipse, here’s some consolation courtesy of NASA. The Scientific Visualization
Studio at the Goddard Space Flight Center has put together this two and
a half minute video from over a year’s worth of data recorded by the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO), which has been
orbiting the moon at 50 kilometers above its surface for over a year.
It’s traditional to offer some homilies and reflections at
the end of one year, and at the beginning of a new one, and being a bit of a
traditionalist I am happy to add my few words to the millions that have been
written already, or to those that are being uploaded across the Internet as we
speak.
Last year was not the best in my extended family, coming as
it did with the loss in May (at age 70), of an older brother, George. There was
also the untimely passing of a brother-in-laws much loved mother, and family
matriarch, Maureen (who lived a long and fulfilled life of 91 years). Of
course, all deaths are untimely, when it comes down to it, but Meg, as she was
affectionately known by one and all, passed away just a couple of weeks before
Christmas, and any death close to Christmas seems to have more impact than if
it had occurred well before significant events that are normally celebrated by
most families, or the larger community.
There were other deaths along the way, all of which served
to remind me that I am not getting younger, and that if I am going to make the
most of the rest of my life I need to focus my time and attention where I can
get the most benefit out of the years ahead. Of course, life marches to its own
beat, and it has a way of getting in the way of our best laid plans – no matter
how carefully we have made our arrangements.
So for myself, the new year begins with much reflection and
the hope that last year’s farewells will be the last I am going to see for some
time. The new year also begins with the promise – and planning – of new
journeys. Next week I head to Melbourne for a five week house sitting stint,
and in July and August I should be apartment sitting in New York City. Then
there is a much anticipated return to my ancestral home on the Greek island of
Ikaria – and another stay in Paris, France would not go amiss either.
Dear reader, life is finite. The clock is ticking.
Travel blogs are filled with comments from readers wishing
that they too could embark on journeys they have been daydreaming about, in
many instances, for years.
If this sound like you, take
heart. You can have your cake and eat it too – but you will have to
decide on your priorities. You will almost certainly have to sacrifice
something to make your dreams come true. And you will again, almost certainly,
have to overcome many doubts and fears to bring your dreams to fruition. You
will also encounter naysayers, sceptics, and critics who will argue that the
world is filled with dangers lurking around every corner – as if watching an
hour of the evening news doesn’t reinforce that time and time again.
Then there are others who argue that you need to knuckle
down and focus on finding a life partner, or family, or career, or
homebuilding, or making a fortune, or [add your own inner nagging voice].
Ignore them all. Travel blogs are also filled with articles
from people – young and old – who have decided to live the dream they have been
nurturing for many years, and who have left the 9-5 rat race behind to travel
the world, in many instances for years at a time.
Some work their way from country to country, others busk or
perform on city streets and subway station platforms. Travellers can join a
wide variety of networks and organizations filled with friendly people that are
happy to offer accommodation and advice for the passing traveller. All this
information and more is available online via the monitor or portable device you
are reading this post on right now.
Make a plan. It doesn’t matter if your plan is to travel in
five years instead of five months. The important thing is to make a plan and
stay focussed on it. Nurture it. Feed it. Grow it. Read, research, make notes,
make plans, make contact with fellow travellers, and aim to put some money
aside each week until you reach your ultimate goal – and departure date.
I say again – life is finite. The clock is ticking.
So, Love The Life You Live – or change it – and may all your
dreams and more come to pass in 2012.
The Grieving Mother figure at Colebrook Reconciliation Park
Colebrook Reconciliation Park in the Adelaide suburb, Eden Hills, was established in 1998 as a memorial to those Aboriginal children who were removed from their families and housed at Colebrook Home, a "United Aborigines" mission which had originated in Oodnadatta in 1924. Later, the mission moved to Quorn, before it was finally relocated to Eden Hills in 1942. The home was finally closed in 1972 and demolished in 1973.
"My baby, my baby..."
"My baby, my baby, please give back my baby."
A mother's words fall upon the deaf ears of authority.
Hearts break, tears fall, fear cries out
from the wrenched hands and arms of a mother and child separated.
Feel the pain, touch the ache, caress the tears.
Through ignorance and indifference came the disruption and destruction of family life.
~ AVIS EDWARDS, FORMER RESIDENT OF COLEBROOK HOME
For a brief period of time during the 1990’s, I was involved with the campaign to turn the site of the former mission (or home), into a permanent memorial to a generation of children who became known as the ‘Stolen Generation’. By 1998, following the success of the campaign involving a local reconciliation group and the Tji Tji Tjuta (former residents) of Colebrook Home, the Colebrook Reconciliation Park was born. In consultation with former residents of the home, a local artist, Silvio Apponyi, was commissioned to create a number of statues to install on site.
The finished works are the Pool of Tears, created in 1998, and Grieving Mother installed in 1999.
One of the figures on the Pool of Tears memorial
…
Background information on site at Colebrook Reconciliation Park
It is important to acknowledge that while Colebrook did house children who had been forcibly removed from their families by government officials, not all native children who passed through the institution were ‘stolen’ from their families. Some were placed there because their parents were unable to care for them. Other children had been taken from their families by non-Indigenous people as workers, and then abandoned when their services were no longer needed.
Sadly, over time, many children eventually lost most, if not all, of their language, culture and identity. When some of these children finally met their parents many years later, it was almost impossible for parent and child to bridge the language and culture gap. Tragically, some children never saw their parents again.
"We are the stolen children..."
…
A montage of former residents of Colebrook House
Thanks to the ongoing work and support of the Colebrook Tji Tji Tjuta, the Blackwood Reconciliation Group, the Aboriginal Lands Trust, and other groups and agencies, the Colebrook Reconciliation Park is now a permanent memorial to these children and their families.
Former residents hold 'campfire' gatherings for adult groups and for school and university students, where they share their stories and achieve reconciliation through creation of compassion and empathy.
Another view of the Pool of Tears
…
More Information
~ Admission is Free
~ Visits can be self guided or can be arranged for group
~ Guest speakers can be organised for a fee
Getting There (see map below)
On Shepherds Hill Road (next to Karinya Reserve), Eden Hills.
Bus 728 or 729 from the City to bus stop 29B, Shepherds Hills Road, Eden Hills
Off-street parking available
Enquiries
Tji Tji Tjuta, Mandy Brown
Email: mandy.brown[@]countryart.org.au
The Blackwood Reconciliation Group Meets on the first Wednesday of Each Month
Contact Dennis Matthews via email: deebeemat[@]adam.com.au
A Year in The Life of The Moon 
