To my fellow Australians, citizens, or indeed my fellow world citizens. To all humans, of all denominations regardless of race, religion or creed.
We stand here today on the precipice of something we are all struggling to comprehend, of something that doesn't discriminate to any one order of humankind, of something invisible to us, but yet so starkly obvious. I speak of course of the pandemic that is threatening the very fabric of society, and for some our very existence.
Existence is a word I would like to highlight, because a lot of things exist, vast oceans exist, forests exist, species of animals exist, and our very own emotions exist. Love exists, hatred exists and fear very much exists, and I firmly believe that it is the existence of fear that goes a long way to defining our very fabric as human beings. Unfortunately a lack of understanding can breed a lack of tolerance, a lack of humility, and a distinct lack of empathy for our fellow human beings.
As human beings we are flawed, that is what makes us who we are. We are all shaped by circumstance from the very moment we draw breath, and with every breath drawn from the moment of birth, we continue to expend breath until the only true conclusion for every one of us is our death. But it is the time in between that will truly define us, death cannot be cheated, it is undeniable, but what cannot be denied is our choices as to how we want to be defined.
Mistakes? I have made plenty. I've learnt from some and not from others. I have hurt myself and I have hurt others, that is because I am human and so are you. In these dark times, lights will still shine bright like the stars in the night sky, sometimes these are clouded but it doesn't mean they are not there. I saw one of these stars before the night had even set. You see I was sitting in my vehicle at the local beach and I saw three elderly people park their cars and exit their vehicles with wine and seats in tow, and it was then I saw one of the most beautiful stars of all, a 90 year old woman, withered by time, body so bent but spirit unbroken.
You see while one of the most vulnerable to the evil that descends, I seen in her no fear, only contentment, content with a life lived with no doubt full of mistakes of loves, of losses, but a life lived nonetheless. And as the sun descended over the ocean, her contentment grew to be deafening in my ears and more importantly in my heart, and as the tears flowed freely down my face I felt something I hadn't felt for a long time, HOPE, the one true emotion that every human being feels.
You see not everybody will experience love, not every human being will experience hate, but I believe that every human being in their life will experience HOPE.
So in closing, with very hard times to come for us all, for the despair being felt and the despair yet to be felt, for the sacrifices to be felt, for the lives yet to be lost and the loves yet to be gained allow yourselves to give into the one thing that defines us all.
Allow yourself hope.
Cameron Hartney, Meadow Springs
