Tea with Ned Kelly

Well, it has come to this.

The terror has set in. I could see it in my 79-year old live-in landlord’s eyes this morning. He said, ‘Doctor in Italy has died because he didn’t have gloves. This could kill any of us.’ He was coughing. He excused himself by saying his saliva went down the wrong way. He identifies with having diabetes and considers himself in the high risk group.

I have already had my terror moment several weeks ago, after coming back from a whole day spent in a crowded city of Shrewsbury. Whatever I came home with that day did go into my lungs eventually. I am still feeling this ‘thing’ down there a little.

At the beginning of this year, I experienced ‘the dark night of the soul.’ A mid-life crises. I was fearful because the human part of me was running this story again and again like a broken record (just to prove that I am indeed in my middle life) that the rug had been pulled from under my feet and I’d lost everything. I managed to ride it out by grace of the Divinity and his/her minions who I call my friends, especially my ‘guardian angel incarnate.’ Still, I had to muster all the tools in my medicine bag to surf the waves of fear and uncertainty.

So, when the terror of death knocked on my door, it was somewhat dampened by my battle-worn psyche. Being a lover of poems, Romanticism before all else, I thought, ‘ How beautiful to fade away like this, alone. Would make a nice story.’ Yes, I’ve been called a drama queen many times… especially by me. I wasn’t alone for one. I had everything going for me, really. I had my humour left too, which is a good vital sign.

The most important question for me now is what can I do to tease the terror out of my landlord. A reflection of my own fear, which I will clean. This is what I have been trained for all my life. How can I be of service? That is my life purpose in this moment. This will, of course, include all the practical things that I can do, like washing hands, keeping 2 meters apart etc; all the love in action. Maybe the best thing for us to do now is to just sit with our terror and learn all the wonderful things about each other’s lives, which are the very reasons why we don’t want to perish just yet.

I loosely quoted Ned Kelly, an Aussie equivalent of Robin Hood from the 19th century (he was from Ireland originally). His life story is a fascinating one. It captivated me as a teenager shortly after arriving in Australia to live for the next 7 plus years. I invite you to read up on it. He was tried in the Supreme Court in October 1880 and was found guilty. Just before he was hung to death, he famously said, ‘Ah well, I suppose it has come to this… Such is life.’

During his last trial Kelly was recorded as saying, ‘It is not that I fear death; I fear it as little as to drink a cup of tea.’ I know why Ned Kelly should come to mind today. Divine inspiration, no doubt. I could do with his strength as he faced his destiny, to do my Work. Right this moment.

I am going to go and make a cuppa for my landlord and I. A good start, I feel. I’ll leave it in the kitchen for him.

‘There is no trouble so great or grave that cannot be much diminished by a nice cup of tea.’
— Bernard-Paul Heroux