220321 thought for the week

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Thought for the Week
Monday, 21st March 2022

Thinking about the world today after watching the evening news, it seems that all is pretty bleak. In that bleakness, there is hope and light, we see a kaleidoscope of problems, but in the gaps between the images there is light, hope and possibility.

Lina Kostenko’s poem, A terrible kaleidoscope, highlights this concept beautifully, in all the pain and suffering that is in the world, there is still the everyday life. The innocence of children speaks volumes, although they may be scared and feel uncertain, they still find the space to be children and play;

In this moment somewhere someone dies.
In this moment. This very moment.
Each and every minute
A ship is wrecked.
The Galapagos burn.
And above the Dnipro
Sets the bitter wormwood star.
Explosion. Volcano.
Ruin. Destruction.
One aims. Another falls.
“Don’t shoot!” a third implores.
Scheherazade’s tales run dry.
Lorelei sings by the Rhine no more.
A child plays. A comet flies.
Faces bloom, not erased by dread.
Blessed is each moment we’re alive
On these worldwide fields of death.

This poem speaks of the urgency in our need to tackle the big social issues that challenge all of us: climate change, natural disaster, war, and its impact on our children and our future. It challenges us to see past the colours and patterns we see, to find the spaces in between and to see if we can change those spaces to take over the pattern, changing it to one that's more ideal.

We must change the patterns in this kaleidoscope – and education has a key part to play. Whether you are a head teacher of a school or someone who helps listen to children read, we all have a part to play.

In Nelson Mandela’s words, “ Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.”

When the cares of my heart are many, your consolations cheer my soul.
Psalm 94:19

To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven: A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted; A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance; A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away; A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak; A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace.
Ecclesiastes 3:1-8

Emma Waters, SDBE Education Services Assistant

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Salisbury Diocesan Board of Education · Salidbury Diocesan Board of Education · The DEC · Wilton, Wiltshire SP20FG · United Kingdom