What Happens When One Stands Apart from the Crowd?!

It was refreshing to see Ireland and RTE standing away from the Eurovision on foot of the watery, valueless revision of standards by the Eurovision committee. Did the sky fall down on Ireland! No, nor on the other countries concerned! It is notable that all with insight into the Eurovision workings see this not just as a stance for right and justice now, but as a fundamental shift in the whole system. It seems that everything about the Eurovision changes in this moment from a projection that it is apolitical and value free to a recognition that every declared value stance shakes not just the body taking the stance, but effects all in the system.

This is enormously refreshing in current times when the sheep mentality massaged into a vein of perceived necessity by the engines of social media like anaesthesia, needs a chain to break so that each person stands tall in their own space. The pace of cultural and societal change is more than most can take, but we need to catch up before the changes that we least desire for yourselves, our families and our communities leave us with a people that look like they have come off a production line!

We need to look at our own individual purpose of life, at where we get the energy to drive our most fundamental values and how our actions and choices need to reflect this. What are our core beliefs? What are our core values? What matters most? What is our life about? What is the purpose of everything we do? Do we recognise and acknowledge a higher power or some other enduring purpose? What do we fall back on if health/relationships/ work .... collapses? What do our practices and our priorities reflect in weekly action?

As the Irish Eurovision committee stepped off the line of treadmills without knowing what the impact might be, it is a good lead for us individually also. The rituals, practices and activities that make up the fabric of our societal treadmills might not be the right ones for us as individuals or families either. Open conversation and open minds lead to creating a tapestry of life to which we can honestly add our names! We don't all need to look the same!

Cathy Burke
Catechist in the Lucan Partnership of Parishes