Principal

It’s Just Not Fair

From time to time I wonder if I am just becoming a heartless, cranky bloke. I am at an age where I am acutely aware of my shortcomings (and they are many) because I have had enough years for my loved ones to point them out to me time and again, and I am just as impatient as I ever was despite trying hard not to be so. The bad drivers around here really set me off, that I know for sure. I need to regain my positivity, and as Austin Powers famously quoted, get my mojo back. 

In the last week I have tried to wean myself off the news which I have been consuming at least three times daily since the pandemic arrived. I have simply needed a break from the woe and not in a stick-my-head-in-the-sand way, but more in a respite and reprieve way. What I am sensing lately from several quarters is the sense of unfairness that many people feel. Is it unfair or is it just the way it is? If we collectively decide that the whole situation is unfair does it make it any better in terms of how we rationalise and come to terms with where we are at? I am not convinced that it does. Please hear me when I say I am not trying to diminish the devastation and difficulties that many face in the wake of the pandemic. We have all been touched by it in one way or another. However, whether it is fair or not is actually immaterial. 

To avoid feeling negative, I am banning “unfair” from my personal lexicon. In short, I have given up on blaming stuff on it being unfair. And on that point, I am going to give up on a number of other things as well. Or at least try to. I am going to give up on worrying about those things about which I have no control. I am giving up on dissecting the whole into all of its component parts and inspecting each one of them. Whatever it is. I have decided that often, the “bits” that make up the “whole” are not always terribly interesting or beguiling. But the whole can be inspiring and exciting. Take the human person as an example. I marvel at how we actually work: we are a bunch of liquids, gases, bones, muscles and so on. I confess to being somewhat squeamish, so I am really averse to knowing how all the bits fit together. There is stuff going on inside our bodies that I simply do not want to know about lest I faint. But the whole is magnificent. I also love a good cake. I do not find flour or bi-carb soda particularly sexy, but when it is mixed with eggs and sugar, it can be mouth-wateringly splendid.

It has been wonderful to see our boys back at school. I know that they variously have concerns about their learning, about their fitness levels given they have been denied the sports they love, and indeed some are worried about family members. We have put several programs in place, we have acknowledged and given opportunities for them to give voice to their concerns and we have let them know that these are all valid and understandable. We have provided some challenges and fun activities to boost morale to inject some levity into their days. And our faith encourages and supports our sense of hope. We can take immense comfort knowing that God is with us through these tough times. God is present in each one of us, the members of this community. We use the God within each one of us as gift for each other. 

Instead of playing a blame game, or feeling like everything is unfair, we can all take some little personal steps and commit to a mindset that is life-giving as opposed to life-draining. Life is not unfair, rather, it is simply the way it is. For now. 

I am committing to giving up on feeling that life is unfair and I am going to go about giving up on all the other stuff that I cannot change. I reckon I might just get my mojo back. I am going to rejoice in the whole, the macro, the big picture. In fact, I feel better already. 

 “We have what we seek. We don't have to rush after it. It was there all the time, and if we give it time it will make itself known to us.”― Thomas Merton

Condolences

Please pray for Isaac Giunta (Year 5) and his family as they mourn the loss of his grandmother Natalina Giunta who passed away on Friday 5 June. Please also pray for Antony (Year 12) and George Cheaib (Year 10) and their family as they mourn the loss of their grandmother Rada Boulattouf who passed away on Saturday 6 June. Eternal rest grant unto them O Lord and let perpetual light shine upon them. May they rest in peace. 

Craig Wattam

Principal