Looking down from a safe distance, all looks small and safe. Being here in Brisbane, I am reminded of the rich beauty of this land and the true friendliness of its peoples. Everywhere I have been over my two weeks home, I have experienced how friendly people are. They say, "Hi!", as they pass you. They share a sense of humour with a simple smile and a one-line comment. They say thanks to the driver as they leave the bus.
All may seem mundane and tame here but, for me, its refreshing reality is a timely reminder and challenge for a world caught up in chaos and self-indulgence. This is my experience of Australia. a land that I have christened as "The Land of Friends".
Even from the Skywalk at Queens Wharf, by the Brisbane River, the traffic below looked a tame and friendly scene. Standing there, it reminded me that life is a risk, not in jumping to be suicidal, but by approaching what is before us in the sure knowledge that we are surrounded by friendship and beauty.
20th August, my last full day back home, is the feast of one of my great heroes, St Bernard of Clairvaux. He lived God's love spoke with such passion. It was so real that he spoke about God's love in such erotic terms, that his writings make your whole body shake with a sense of God's love, as it is felt as being so intimate.
His words ring home today.
"The measure of love is love without measure."
"What we love we shall grow to resemble."
"The three most important virtues are humility, humility and humility."
We don't take risks that often, if ever, as we are held back by fear or comfort, or both. On the other side of the equation, love frees us; beauty inspires us; friendship lifts us up, so to reach out and take those risks we need to take along the way of life. Otherwise, we remain small and safe, becoming mundane and tame, not becoming the life-giving friends. the bearers of beauty mor the passionate lovers our alienating world needs.
God bless the Land of Friends.
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