Principal's Reflections

                On His Blindness

'When I consider how my light is spent,

Ere half my days, in this dark world and wide,

And that one talent which is death to hide,

Lodged with me useless, though my Soul more bent

To serve there with my Maker, and present 

My true account, lest he returning chide;

Doth God exact day-labour, light denied,

I fondly ask; But patience to prevent

That murmur, soon replies, God doth not need

Either man's work or his own gifts, who best

Bear his mild yoke, they serve him best, his State

Is Kingly. Thousands at his bidding speed

And post o're Land and Ocean without rest:

They also serve who only stand and wait.

                                                                                        John Milton

I spend too much of my life standing in queues, it seems to me.  Invariably, of course, I choose the slowest moving queue and find myself trapped behind someone who wants to argue about the price of a purchase or who has brought his life-savings to be counted at the bank – all in 5 cent pieces!

If ever I am foolish enough to think that I might have at last attained a certain tranquillity of spirit, I have only to stand in a queue to be overcome again by the awful frustration that blights the life of impatient people. 

Nevertheless, while I've got a long way to go in conquering impatience, one helpful thing about standing in queues is that I often recall the poem that some English teacher forced me to learn off by heart when I was in Year 9; in the days when a mark was to be taken off for each mistake, including any punctuation errors.

(Incidentally, I have always been very grateful for the things I was forced to learn by rote – mathematical tables have been invaluable and I have been frequently blessed by the recollection of poetry that I was compelled to commit to memory – even though I couldn't see the relevance of it at the time.)

Over and over again while standing in queues I've remembered Milton's "On His Blindness", with its famous last line, "They also serve who only stand and wait." Milton (1608-1674) is one of the great English poets. Interestingly, most of his best work was composed after he became totally blind around 1652 and his thoughts were written down by his daughters at his dictation.  'On His Blindness' records Milton's struggle with blindness and how it seemed that the talent given to him to observe and to write was being cruelly diminished.

Milton has a lot to say to those of us who, consciously or unconsciously, tend to measure our effectiveness and establish our sense of self-worth by our 'much doing'.  We say to ourselves that life is short, there is no time to waste, that we have talents that must be developed and exercised – all of which is quite true!  Yet there is much to be learned in the discipline of doing nothing, of simply being, of patiently waiting. “They also serve who only stand and wait.”

Radhika Pandit

I am delighted to share this news with our school community. Radhika and her mother Zuivere’s book, ‘Get Lost Dirty Covid -19!’, has been declared the winner of global Indie Reader Discovery Award (IRDA) in the USA. After getting accolades and appreciation from our Hon Prime Minister Mr Scott Morrison and Hon Premier Mr Daniel Andrews, this is the international recognition to the book and its authors.  (Note 3 signed copies are available at the MFG Library for borrowing).

Jazmin Taylor

This is Jaz who is working at Brentwood as part of her school based traineeship in Health Services Assistance. She is pictured with her supervisor Heather who said that Jaz is loved by the residents – she really brightens their days.

Ms Michelle Crofts 

Principal of Matthew Flinders Girls