Letter from Elizabeth

Dear All

Festival of Life

Tsunamika lives in 550 joyful hearts. Many asked “what does she represent?”  and “What does she bring?  To one woman I said, “Joy, love and hope”? and she replied, “I need all of that.”  This was one of two encounters that touched me deeply.  The other was at the end of the day when an Israeli man picked a Tsunamika and said “I’m returning to Israel tonight, may I take one for a friend”.  I thought, Oh, how much of what Tsunamika represents is so desperately needed in the region. 

The experiences that I had with people through Tsunamika on this day lead to what I felt to be a heart connection with those who created her.  This in turn led to my understanding that the donations1 that are made to the Tsunami Relief Fund are given freely and with love.  Therefore, whatever is created from the fund embodies the essence of free giving and love.  Thus, Tsunamika must be given freely in order for the life giving energy of joy and love to continue to flow unimpeded.  And I saw this dynamic luminous2 flow of energy clearly reflected in the bright happy faces and in the delight with which Tsunamika is received.

At first children and adults were polite and took only one Tsunamika.  When they noticed that there seemed to be an unlimited supply of Tsunamika, they asked if they might take another for a sister, mother or friend.  Then they came round again and the shy requests multiplied into, for my sisters and friends.  Eventually they were taking handfuls without any explanation.  Here are a few comments in response to the magic of Tsunamika.

“I’m captivated by her” said a man who returned again and again to take another Tsunamika for a friend.

“You don’t choose her, she chooses you” from one woman to her friend who had said, “I don’t know which one to have.”

“I’ll have this one, she speaks to me.” said another.

Many people stopped to read the literature on AV that Martin had given me and to pick up leaflets.  Amongst the responses to AV were, “I have never heard of it” and “Is it in America?”.  I had conversations with about ten people who had visited AV.  A few were thinking of returning.   A man expressing surprise said, “Is it still working?  I’m glad to see it is still flourishing.”  “Is the Matrimandir completed?” asked an engineer who had worked on it.  Min was at the festival, I didn’t know he was going to be there nor did I recognize him.  It was only my noticing his AV logo tee-shirt that prompted me to speak to him.  You can imagine my embarrassment when he said, “I brought the Tsunamika”.

David Widdicombe of AVI UK visited and bought some of my jewellery.  As you know my original idea was to sell my non-precious jewellery at the festival to help fund my visits to AV and the voluntary work that I hope to do when I’m there.  My idea then developed into why not distribute Tsunamika and then why not promote Auroville.  A man, who intends to promote the Association for Human Values, also wants to distribute Tsunamika at the festival next year. He gave me some suggestions on how to turn my home-made promotion on AV into a more effective and professional display.  I’ll talk it over with you and Martin to see how this could be done.

 
At the end of the day I was exhausted, but happy. 

Peace Day, 21 September was such a contrasting experience!  As the Festival of Life was a joyful experience with few quizzical moments.  Peace Day and the days running up to it were the exact opposite.  They were full of my wondering about the thoughts and emotions of the many who did not seem to be touched by it and I was disappointed and sad.

250 Tsunamika were received with the same joy it had received at the Festival of Life.  A request for help on Peace Day went unanswered, otherwise, I think with help Tsunamika would have reached out to more hearts.  An Argentinean woman who was visiting her daughter in London said, “She will travel far.  I’m returning to Minneapolis, where I live now, and then I’m visiting my family in Argentina.”   One man caught my attention.  Out of the corner of my eye I observed him reading the literature on Peace One Day, AV and Tsunamika.  Then he took out a change purse, carefully counted out his pennies (that was the cost price of a Peace One Day badge) and made his donation.  Musing on my observations of him, I wondered, might he be a student on a tight budget and might he one day be a future Aurovillian?  

My sad Peace Day experience made me re-appreciate “The Mother’s Dream” that There should be somewhere on earth a place……  

I know that all that arises has a purpose and that there are many who work to manifest “the good, the true and the beautiful” nevertheless I wish this “somewhere on earth”, this home, to be everywhere on earth and for Peace One Day to be every day.  

Love, Elizabeth
 

PS.  Some people insisted on giving a donation to Tsunamika.  At first I suggested they visit the web site and make a donation.  But after talking it over with David Widdicombe when he visited the Festival of Life, we decided it was a good idea to receive the donations.  I will give the total of £28.62 to Martin at the AVIUK meeting tomorrow.

Curious, I looked up the definitions of donation and luminous in the Chambers 20th Century Dictionary and, look what I found. 

1 Donation, n. act of giving: a gift of money or goods; d­­ō’nary, a thing given to a sacred use; dona nobis, the last section of the mass, beginning Dona nobis pacem, Give us peace.

2 Luminary, a source of light, esp. one of the heavenly bodies.  One who illustrates any subject or instructs mankind.  Luminiferous, giving, yielding, being the medium of, light.