(This article was also published in a slightly shorter version in Eureka Street (on-line journal): LINK . You are welcome to comment thoughtfully there or on Stephanie Dowrick’s public Facebook page.) A couple of weeks ago I went to a sung Mass in Wellington, New Zealand, at St Mary of
http://www.smh.com.au/comment/secret-mens-business-of-the-arms-industry-needs-exposure-20180202-h0spx3.html When governments make decisions that may offend or appall many of us, or that seem to be utterly against the public good, we can only assume they are relying upon our short attention span, or perhaps feelings of helplessness: “What difference can I make?” Well, we can do a
Perhaps the greatest stain on Christianity is its centuries-long abhorrent treatment of Jewish people. This persecution is more than tragic given that Jesus was himself, and was always, a Jew. When we consider recent events like that of Charlottesville, they should horrify us not only because those marching with the
Stephanie Dowrick is a life-long social activist and peace-maker. She reflects here on the wisdom of non-violence and the urgent necessity of our understanding this – and bringing it to life. Her many books include Seeking the Sacred. It is utterly heartbreaking to be sitting in my office in Sydney,
There’ve been lots of questions in the twitter and Facebook spheres in recent weeks about why writers write. My own shortest answer would be: to know more. For me, there’s no better way to understand humankind as well as ideas in greater depth – and to use the gifts of
Invest in the writers you care about. Buy their books. Don’t borrow or boast of buying 2nd-hand. (Live authors need royalties.) Don’t assume that just because authors “love” writing, they can survive on inspiration alone. Step outside your comfort zone: read adventurously. Read and buy locally, especially if you live
This portrait of 20th-century European poet Rainer Maria Rilke is by his friend the Expressionist painter, Paula Modersohn-Becker, who painted it when both were adventurous idealists in their 20s. I have a particular fondness for it because it was when I working at The Women’s Press in London in the early 1980s that
It gave me so much pleasure to prepare this talk and to consider the many ways in which the earth constantly “teaches” us – if only we will allow that. These lessons include awareness that whatever our differences, we are dependent on a single source; that the “seasons” of life
More than 100 years ago the pioneering psychologist William James wrote: “The greatest revolution in our generation is the discovery that human beings, by changing the inner attitudes of their minds, can change the outer aspects of their lives.” How true this is when it comes to suffering. “In life
Can we any longer afford to ignore our power to harm one another? Or to recoil, helplessly? “Doing no harm” is an active choice, one which perhaps has a higher ethical and social value than any other, as suggested in this extract from Stephanie Dowrick’s latest and most overtly peace-making
From the Interfaith in Sydney service, 20 March 2011, this is most of a talk given by Stephanie Dowrick on how we can keep our hearts open and sustain our compassion in the face of so many public tragedies. Stephanie’s talk followed the disasters in New Zealand, Japan and elsewhere, and
These images come from a shared project I created some years ago with Sydney writer, photographer and “urban farmer” Jessica Perini who not only took the photos (more images follow) but grew the plants and waited – with loving patience – for the “moment” that illustrated our theme of the
“When do you write? Do you make a time every morning…?” I was asked a couple of nights ago at a wonderful event at Shearer’s Bookshop in Leichhardt, Sydney. (The picture above shows me there with fellow writer Walter Mason.) It was a loaded question and I answered with a
There are few expressions of human ignorance and misery worse than religious bigotry. Bigotry of any kind harms those who express it as well as those who are its targets. Religious bigotry, though, generally comes heavily tainted with self-righteousness. At its worst, it’s sustained by the noxious belief that it
Easter is the highpoint in the Christian calendar, a celebration of eternal life over physical death. But while Easter has specific characteristics and potency, such celebration is not confined to Christians or Christianity alone. All faiths and faith cultures offer stories and rituals to affirm the co-existence of some form
In any year it makes sense to monitor and limit stress. But increasingly, that task seems crucial. Some of us are already coping with dramatically reduced work or financial options and almost all of us are looking for ways to cope with some new and unwelcome demands. Public attention has
It’s good to be back and I would like you to know that I have been missing you. I don’t just mean that I have been missing writing this column, although that is also true. But it is you (the readers) that I have missed most and especially the sense
Could this possibly be the year in which the lovely phrase “shock of the new” comes to have a special and even more positive meaning? Let me put this hope into context. Over the last decade, knowledge of the brain has changed dramatically. The pioneering science of neuroplasticity is showing
In a society that worships success, it’s easy to fail – but hard to fail well. It is even hard to be sure what “failing well” might mean, although it’s likely to include being fairly graceful about it, avoiding bitterness or blame, learning something from it and not allowing it
Jane McGrath’s recent death is a tragedy for her friends and especially for her close family. But the amount of press coverage strongly suggests that public interest in her life and death goes beyond what might be expected for the attractive wife of a popular cricket player. Here is a
