A Monument to Reconciliation
Marta Janik
Poland
Imagine that instead of putting a column with Duke Cumberland figure on top in the town’s center, people planted a tree. The tree would be almost 300 years old now! On my collage this tree is an oak. I cannot imagine a better monument for Birr or for any other place in the world.
In the past people prayed to the spirits before cutting a tree. There were different prayers for the maple, the elm, the ash, the oak. If we had planted a tree in the 18th century in the town’s center, maybe we would have stayed faithful to the forests of Ireland and we would have not destroyed so many of them. Maybe the climate change would not have been so dramatic.
Yes, we become increasingly aware of the damage the humankind did to nature. It is not enough. Cumberland defeated the Scots. We don’t need wars and military victories any more. We need unity. We need a deep reconciliation between all living beings. We need to sit together (under the tree) and notice our beautiful world once again, over and over. May this beauty inspire us and give us enough imagination to find solutions to protect our common world.
My collage presents the most beautiful monument of Ireland, one of the sacred trees – the Oak which, according to the legend, bore apples, acorns and hazelnuts. It is a symbol of diversity and wealth. This tree is not alone. It is surrounded by birds (a robin, a blackbird, a blue tit, a goldfinch…) and plants (fuchsia, aster, bellflower, bitter vetch, shamrock…). It is not self-sufficient. Neither are we.
Marta Janik
Poland
Imagine that instead of putting a column with Duke Cumberland figure on top in the town’s center, people planted a tree. The tree would be almost 300 years old now! On my collage this tree is an oak. I cannot imagine a better monument for Birr or for any other place in the world.
In the past people prayed to the spirits before cutting a tree. There were different prayers for the maple, the elm, the ash, the oak. If we had planted a tree in the 18th century in the town’s center, maybe we would have stayed faithful to the forests of Ireland and we would have not destroyed so many of them. Maybe the climate change would not have been so dramatic.
Yes, we become increasingly aware of the damage the humankind did to nature. It is not enough. Cumberland defeated the Scots. We don’t need wars and military victories any more. We need unity. We need a deep reconciliation between all living beings. We need to sit together (under the tree) and notice our beautiful world once again, over and over. May this beauty inspire us and give us enough imagination to find solutions to protect our common world.
My collage presents the most beautiful monument of Ireland, one of the sacred trees – the Oak which, according to the legend, bore apples, acorns and hazelnuts. It is a symbol of diversity and wealth. This tree is not alone. It is surrounded by birds (a robin, a blackbird, a blue tit, a goldfinch…) and plants (fuchsia, aster, bellflower, bitter vetch, shamrock…). It is not self-sufficient. Neither are we.