becausewethinkthisearthissofragile.Whereas our earth is very strong and much further
beyondusthanwe’lleverknow.Soalthough I want to take care of land and sea, I also don’t
stresstoohardaboutit.I’velearnedthat.I used to worry a lot more about stuff that’s going
on.Andit’seasytoworry.’Causewhenyou care, when you love country, when you love our
naturalworld,youcare.You’redevastatedwhen you see the shit that goes on. But I feel like
wealsoatthesameratehavetogivethanks for all the beautiful stuff we get given every
dayfromcountry.Andthewisdomtoexistwith it. And it’s very important to celebrate that
positivity.Tocelebratewherewe’reat.I was up on Gari country a little while ago and we
werewatchingthiscranebirdformostofthe day. And he was trying to get whiting, you
know,inamongstallthesebaitfish.Hewas sitting there for the whole of the low tide. An
houreithersideofitstandingthereinthisone spot, razzing up the little mullet here and
thereandwaitingfora whitingtocomethrough. We watched him and he eventually got
himselfa whitingandhesattherefortwohours. And it made me think, we used to always
dothat.Weweresopatient.Withcountry.We had the time and the space to be at peace and
getourfeedwhenitcametousandtohave that patience and live by the seas. And I think
theotherthingwesufferfromnowis,theperspective I got from the crane was, we want
everythingtohappensoquick.Wewantreconciliation to just be fucking, [clicks], solved
straightaway.Wewanteverythingnow.And that’s what we’ve become. And we get upset
andwegetworriedifitdoesn’t.But,youknow, we have to be positive. Because there is a lot
ofchangesincethen.It’sactuallyquitefast.Whenyoulookatthe history of evolution, things are happening
prettyfastreally.Thingsarechanging.Fifteen, 20 years ago, I’d never seen whitefellas with
Aboriginalflags.Stickersontheircarsort-shirts or anything, that bridge wasn’t crossed.
Whereasthesedaysyouthinkabouthowmany people now feel comfortable enough to
accepttheirpassionforcultureasa whiteperson in Australia and broadcast it publicly.
That’sjustbeautiful.Yeah!Don’t
worry
about it.There’sa lotofgoodchange happening on
a street.Ourgovernment’s fucking hopeless.
Butona street levelpeople are rising up.
Peopleareconnecting.People are wantingto understandculture.
Yeah.Andthesearethenarrativesthatwereallyneedtogive strength to. How do
werememberthewaysofourOldPeopleratherthanworrying, like you said, or
fightingconstantlyforconditionstochange?Howdowereclaim our wisdom around
beingdeliberatecreatorswithaneyeonthelonggame?Because one thing, and
you’reabsolutelyright,ourpeopleknowhowtotake our time [laughs].Youdon’tsurviveforoverhowevermanyyearsthey’resaying, 120,000 years now they’re saying,
withoutknowinghowtositinstillnessandbeokaywiththat.But I guess there are days when it feels
likea pushandpull.Sooneofmydailychallengesis,howdo I sit in that space of reciprocity and
belongingandresonatingwithoneconsciousnessalongsideadvocating for that systemic change?
AndtherearetimeswhenI’vebeenveryinvolvedinbeinganactivist. And I think I’m at a point now
whereinnerpeaceandthatnurturingismystrongestformof resistance. But it pushes and pulls.90
XAVIER RUDD
DUMBO FEATHER