Thou shalt not...

Lochnagar Crater at end of WWI

Despite the date at the top of this post, it is July 1 where I live & as such it is the Memorial Day for the Battle of the Somme. There will be ceremonies at Lochnagar, Thiepval et al on this day to reanimate the energies from 92 years ago.

It was Lochnagar I was thinking of this morning - that open wound in the body of France that will that be surrounded by remembrance rituals today. It seems likely that the bodies of German soldiers lie within it. The remains of a British soldier was found in the land just behind the crater in 1998.

Because the 'dates' of events seem so important, I feel it may do some good to send a little soothing energy to areas caught in the glare of their ritual days. So this 1st July please feel free to send some kindness to this area in France.

I played around with some ideas this morning until I came upon the one that was right for me - how did I know itwas right- because it made me laugh out loud. I imagined that this mine was never detonated, what made me laugh was the image that then popped into my head of a load of squirrels removing all the explosive to make the land & the men safe.

One of the things that got left out of the second edition of my last article was mention of the enforced SILENCE & sombreness that envelops all these memorials. Two minutes silence - what is that about? What is the silence for?

This reads "Let silent contemplation be your offering" - the same words appear at the ANZAC Memorial in Sydney

I believe there is some kind of magic in our words, perhaps silence is needed because we might say something that would break a spell. It was the 'word' that was there in the beginning we are told. Remembering the power of names, I wonder whether our words - spoken from the heart - could help to break this spell that we are under.

I have also wondered what might happen if someone laughed within the walls of the Douaumont Ossuary. I have a friend in England who has a magnificent laugh, a great booming 'Basil Brush' affair - I love it, makes me feel good. Have you noticed how little laughter there is today & how few real comedians there are?

So my offering for healing today is a little gentle humour & the words "laughter & peace to all"

Additional: Ben from HPANWO posted this on his blog today - somehow feels relevant to the whole feel of my musing as to a 'hundred years war' (in last article) against humanity - perhaps I should have gone back to 1908!
http://hpanwo.blogspot.com/2008/06/tunguska-event-hundred-years-ago-today.html