Michelle Williams

There is no doubt that James Cameron’s Avatar is a visual masterpiece. The story may not be new but isn’t this more a true use of storytelling? Delivering a message when we can’t seem to face the reality?

As we struggle to find a solution to an environment choking on the progress of Industrialisation, Avatar’s message seems to have rattled the Vatican & neoconservatives among others but, does it have to?

Spirituality is a contentious issue. Whether you believe in something greater than us or not, we all still face the question, we all have our own experiences. It has caused wars, it has built empires, it has started cults, it’s message has been corrupted by people in power.

The central storyline to Avatar suggests that all is connected, that life is borrowed energy. All the forests, its animals & the people inhabiting are connected by one source. They place great importance on the rituals & the balance of all life.

The Vatican is offended by this notion saying that it is a mistake to make nature as important as humans. The Pope stated that such notions “open the way to a new pantheism tinged with neo-paganism, which would see the source of man’s salvation in nature alone, understood in purely naturalistic terms.”

Here in Australia, the vast expanse of this sometimes unforgiving country has only ever really been understood & connected with by our own Indigenous population.  The “Black fella” magic has been marvelled by “White fellas” since this land was conquered.

By believing in this one source it doesn’t mean that the other religions institutions are wrong, quite the contrary. Each culture, each person has their own perspective, own experiences with it’s own symbols, teachings, spiritual leaders & messiahs whose message resonates. These religions & beliefs offer a belonging to an important & strong group that gives meaning, strength & purpose to life.

By stepping back from the chaos of forcing the issue of who is right to sit in silence for a moment, a new peace can be found. The questions is than not about religion but about spirituality. This is not a revelation, just the way it is, the unseen yet felt by many.

At a music festival recently an Aboriginal Elder, after ceremony & performance told us “It doesn’t matter the colour of your skin, where you’re from or your religion, we are all one with the land”.

At a time when the people of this planet, especially those in Western Culture struggle with anxiety or depression or obesity among a range of symptoms of being disconnected, at a time when we continue to judge each other, continue to fight over who is right. Instead of forcing a ‘broken solution’ like CPRS on a broken economic model, if we look at the cause & not the effect, if we just sat still long enough to reconnect, perhaps it would be a massive step in the right direction.

Thank you James Cameron for telling this story, for connecting with so many people around the world.

NB: Did anyone notice the metaphoric use of the tree of souls as a ‘network that connects the memories, knowledge & thoughts of a planet’ ~ wonder what he was referring to…..