Dear Inner Circle,
A few days ago, we returned from our walk on the Larapinta trail in Central Australia. The images of night sky, the changing colours of the mountains as the sun rose, the waterholes that seemed like mirages in the oppressive heat… these memories will stay with us forever. (As will the red dirt in my boots and hat!) But it’s the moments between people that are most vivid as I sit down to write this note, and the truth in those exchanges. We were encouraged to engage in dadirri (deep listening)—my walking companion was delightful, but much preferred the deep talking route!
Our culture has become so attuned to the constant barrage of lies that, as Hannah Arendt observed many decades ago, the purpose of the avalanche of mistruth isn’t designed to make us believe the lies, but rather to ensure that no one believes anything anymore.
So, who can we trust in a world full of spin? Any attempt to counter this problem is bound to be heard as even more spin. How might we bring some healthy balance to the world? Think about what it would mean if we were determined to reach for truth and be prepared only to speak truth. At this point some will want to say that truth can’t be known. I would say none of us can know the whole truth, but we can all reach for it and begin to see truth as the thing shared between people.
Part of the resonance for us as Wayside is the conviction that there is no such thing as a single human being. We are hard-wired as social creatures. The word I could at most, only describe half of something. You and me is the basic human unit. This simple idea is a radical departure from the power of one. It’s the beginning point for a journey toward mental health. If truth is to be found, it must be searched for with others. We thrive together or we slide to ill health together.
During our walk on the Larapinta, an elder said to us, “We are all in relationship with each other, with obligations and roles that demand of us, none of us can ever own too much, because that will make that person an individual, and we will soon lose them, and we will be weakened.” Such wisdom.
We relearnt in a powerful way, that our centre is outside of ourselves. It’s located in the holy middle, between you and me. Surely this is the dwelling place of “the Divine”— between human persons. What a shift. When I cease to be central, my health and community health becomes the one activity.
As my centre moves from within to between, a whole new attitude of openness flavours my every move. What’s wrong with you and what’s wrong with me, isn’t some loose screw that a doctor can identify and simply treat. So often we think of healing as identifying what’s wrong and then having that thing fixed. But I wonder if healing has more to do with being open—so different to the idea of being cured—more to do with the interpersonal nature of existence.
Almost as if to highlight this, as we returned to Kings Cross after our time in the Northern Territory, I saw a profound love exchange. One of our amazing frontline workers sat and lovingly de-loused a woman who is often in a state of rambling psychosis. But she was sitting still and giggling like child, especially as our angel gave her a little head massage at the end. This act of healing required openness, which occurred in the presence of a trusting love and vulnerability to touch and to be touched.
To be awake to this interaction was to bear witness to what I believe to be the presence of the Divine between them. The moment was interrupted by a mate, who slapped me hard on the back, “Keep wearing your ugly hat around here please Rev, it gives me a better chance with the ladies, can I borrow it please!” So much to process, I still haven’t worked it out! I can only keep reaching for truth.
Thank you for being part of the Inner Circle,
Jon
Rev. Jon Owen
CEO & Pastor
Wayside Chapel
