Hi folks and welcome to my Friday Reflection.
This is the final in the series focused on keeping our attention between National Reconciliation Week and NAIDOC Week.
We’ve been holding onto this time between National Reconciliation Week and NAIDOC Week purposefully to highlight a potential for Australia to adopt this period as a ‘National Ceremony’ in our relationships together.
Keep the fire burning
Throughout the past few weeks we’ve been using variations of “Now More Than Ever we need to Keep The Fire Burning.”
During that time we’ve used this combination theme to look at how Little Actions impact our world, the importance for Not Burning Out, using Pivot Points to change our mindset, and on having Clear Purpose to Keep Tradition.
It was leading us to this week of acknowledging this time as a time of ceremony. It is popular for First Nations to consider ceremony as something that takes weeks to perform, not something done in a matter of hours.
I hope that Australians can adopt the notion of ceremony taking weeks to encompass and connect National Reconciliation Week and NAIDOC Week every year.
Why Australia can adopt a notion of ceremony - From Reconciliation Week to NAIDOC Week
Ceremony keeps us committed to each other and our collective purpose. A Reconciliation to NAIDOC Week ceremony can hold our commitment to each other by maintaining platforms to keep our relationships reviewed and renewed.
Ceremony keeps us focused on our contribution and our relationships. A Reconciliation to NAIDOC Week ceremony can encourage and challenge us to do more and be more to create the change and improvements. Whether we’re working on advocacy or diplomacy, protest or policy, we can all use this ceremony time to keep our contributions focused.
Ceremony keeps the cosmos in check by allowing us to connect with a story bigger than us and over many generations. A Reconciliation to NAIDOC Week ceremony can help us to take an eagle view on our work, our communities, and our generations. We can use the ceremony time to reflect and re-engage with the stories of this land, the peoples who have always been here, the peoples who have made significant impacts, our collective stories, and our shared futures.
I encourage you to think of NAIDOC Week as the end of a ceremony, not in a way that invites us to “pack up and move along”, but in a sense that the ceremony might empower and inspire you to keep going.
Now More Than Ever Keep The Fire Burning.
Be encouraged and encourage others.
Mark YP
