‘Huiswants es!’ Be alive!
It took me a while to get there, certainly longer than most of you I am sure, but I have recently discovered the joy of listening to podcasts. It is a remarkable thing to me that one can learn things one never knew while taking a walk or visiting the gym. My diet of choice is all things historical, and I was rather taken by a recent lecture on a civilization mentioned several times in the bible – the Hittites.
The Hittites came onto the scene in about the 18th century BC and they lived in Anatolia which comprises much of modern Turkey. They had water on three sides – the Black Sea to the north, the Aegean to the West and the Mediterranean to the South, and mountains to the east. Pharaoh Ramses II often referred to them as humty which translated from ancient Egyptian meant "women-soldiers", as it was the practice of male Hittite warriors to wear their hair long. We’ve had our own battles with a few ‘humties’ here at All Saints over the years!
Their language is one of the oldest to have survived and as you might have guessed, this is where I’m heading with my fascination for Hittite civilization, for it contains this little gem - ‘Huiswants es’ which was used as a multi-purpose greeting, as in ‘Hi!’ Literally translated it means ‘Be Alive’ and as casual greetings go, I feel rather drawn to this one.
Hopefully in our efforts to teach well, to encourage our students to lead lives based on Truth, Faith and Compassion, to provide sport, music, drama, debating, camps and celebrations and to stand alongside them when they face those inevitable challenges, we have also somehow managed to convey the truth that life is the most wonderful gift of all; that the world is overflowing with unexpected blessings and delights and that we only need to be alive to these riches, to have an open and enthusiastic heart and amazing things will come our way.
The world is an extraordinary place and right now is a brilliant time to be alive. I know there is a lot of bad stuff going on and watching the nightly news can be quite traumatic, but one of my favourite quotes (which I am sure you will have read in one of my previous articles) comes from the American mythologist Joseph Campbell who writes:
“When we talk about settling the world's problems, we're barking up the wrong tree. The world is perfect. It's a mess. It has always been a mess. We are not going to change it. Our job is to straighten out our own lives.”
However much we might crave certainty and security, the reality is that we live in a spontaneous and occasionally capricious world, a world of unexpected delights, chance encounters, serendipity, yet also a world of wars, tsunamis, hurricanes and economic downturns. The real beauty of existence is that we never have to face it alone. We are all in it together. So, when something wonderful happens we have people around us to share our joy; and when we are anxious or in despair, those same people stand beside us and help us through. And behind everything is the comforting shadow of the cross. Another quotation I have committed to memory comes courtesy of my favourite theologian Thomas Berry, who writes in the Prologue to his magnificent book ‘The Dream of the Earth’:
“In moments of confusion, such as the present, we are not left simply to our own rational contrivances. We are supported by the ultimate powers of the universe as these make themselves present to us through the spontaneities within our own being. We need only to become sensitised to these spontaneities. It is time for us to renew our human participation in the grand liturgy of the universe itself.”
I love that. Being invited to participate in the ‘grand liturgy of the universe itself’ definitely tingles my spine. So, as we head towards the chilly days and blue skies of this winter season, my message to all my readers this week (both of you!) is ‘Huiswants es!’ Be alive!
Patrick Wallas
Headmaster
