[Fwd: [aromatherapy] thoughts from far away]

[Guest guest]

Something I sent to one of my (other) mailing lists earlier today that I wanted

to share with you ...

 

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[aromatherapy] thoughts from far away

Sat, 15 Sep 2001 09:46:27 +1000

Jane Eliza <jane

AT list <aromatherapy

 

Now that the initial shock has settled a bit, I feel I can write some of my

thoughts ... forgive me if this turns into a ramble ...

 

We (my partner, Bob & I) heard the news when we woke on Wednesday morning,

Sydney time and were unable to do anything except sit & watch all day, till we

fel asleep emotionally exhausted early in the evening. To begin with, it was as

if I had a mental blockage against feeling - I was watching these horrific

images - the same ones shown over & over again - & began wondering why I was

*feeling* nothing. All sense of what was happening was only touching me at an

intellectual level. SLowly it dawned on me that these images were familiar -

these same images have been coming to us from Hollywood on the big screens for

years. When I watch disaster movies, there's always been a small voice echoing

in the back of my mind - " what if ... what if ...what if this were real? " . It

was only when I remembered that voice that my head let me break through to the

knowing that this time, this IS real. The feelings that came at me then were

overwhelming. I fought back the tears. For some reason it didn't seem right to

cry yet. I think Bob had felt it before I did. He didn't say a word. We sat

where we'd woken and watched the TV all day - numbed to the core. It was well

into the morning when we realised that Bob should have been at work two hours

before. He rang & said he wasn't coming in - there was no surprise there - he

was not the only one. I came out to the computer half way through the morning to

see what news there was on the list, with Mynou & Roseanne particularly in mind,

and read through Mynou's continuous updates. To you two, and all the other New

Yorkers on the list - my heart goes out to you. I cannot begin to imagine what

it must be like for you having this happen to your city. Watching events unfold

through the day made me feel very close - we were no longer on the other side of

the world, no longer in a different country. We were part of something that was

happening to our world. By evening, the emotional impact had exhausted us both -

at 8pm we turned off the light & feel into a deep sleep. I am surprised I slept

so well. I am surprised that I did not recall seeing those images again through

the night. But I woke crying & I think I'd been crying throughout my sleep. All

day Thursday the tears kept welling up & falling soundlessly and the numbness of

the day before turned to a deep deep sadness that I felt as a physical pain in

my heart. I put rose & heli in all the vapourisers around the house, and lit a

candle on top of tv and tried to do the work I had to do that now seemed somehow

meaningless. I spent a lot of time reading emails from the many lists I am on -

stories from people who were in the area at the time, stories from people who

had family call them from the towers, stories of the courage of the rescue

workers, people expressing their frustration, grief & anger. And part of me

envied those who were able to find the words to write, because I tried, often,

and could not. Part of our volunteer fire brigade has put themselves on 2 hours

notice to fly to NYC if needed, if possible, and I was warmed by the solidarity

these brave people show in times of crisis, by the feelings of brotherhood shown

to their American counterparts. Bloodbanks here announced they would collect

blood & send it - again, when possible, if needed. I don't think these are

offers that come from a sense of helping out a friendly country in need - they

come from a sense of being part of a world in need. The boundaries have come

down. We in the 'free world' each have pride in our nations. I feel we are at

the beginning of a time when that pride must/will extend beyond national

boundaries as we strive to find something to be proud of as a World population.

One of the images sent via email this week was a view of the Earth from space.

We've seen this image countless times. This week, it has a different meaning.

This week, it is a reminder that our world needs our pride & our courage and our

strength to see beyond the immediate turmoil that this terrible act has begun.

It seems unlikely that we can move on from this without war, but the time for

prayers for peace is *now*, so that our world can come through the war cleansed

of the hatred and fear which was not only the driving force behind the attack,

but will be the driving force behind the retribution. My sadness and grief are

not only for the people of NYC and for what has happened there - my sadness &

grief are for all the conflicts that have led up to that event, and for what is

going to happen as a result.

*deep breath*

Yesterday was my one day a week working as a supervisor for aromatherapy

students doing their necessary hours at the college clinic. When they are not

busy with clients, we sit around talking oils. Yesterday we had a quiet day,

client-wise. We sat in a circle and I asked 'if you were able to be in Manhatten

today, what EOs would you have with you, and how would you use them?'. There was

a deep, painful silence. Everyone bowed their heads & I felt the tears in their

hearts. As they could find the words, they began talking, firstly about oils,

but then about their reactions, their fears, their questions. Frankincense was

one of the main oils that came up. And rose & helichrysum & cypress. And for the

children, roman chamomile & tangerine. We talked about using citrus blends,

thymes & oreganos for the rescue worked to have on their face masks. Vetiver was

mentioned, and we wondered if the deep earthy aromas might be too much to add to

the smell of dust, too much grounding to add to the terrible reality that these

people were facing. I asked them if they'd cried yet - all of them had had the

same reaction I had - numbness on the first day of knowing, uncontrollable tears

on the second. I looked around the circle and realised what an incredible

cross-cultural representation we had there: a American (New Yorker), Dutch,

Czech, Croation, Korean, Swiss, French, Canadian and 2 Australians, myself being

one. The Indian from the group had already left for the day. I told them to look

around our group & see - we all had the same feeling - one World, our World. I

think we all went home yesterday feeling an incredible sense of love, compassion

& empathy for each other, for our American family, for our World family.......

 

Thankyou for letting me ramble ...

 

with Love & Blessings to all those touched by this devastation, and a prayer for

compassion for those who aren't ...

 

Jane :-))

 

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