A grand jury review of allegations of gang rape at Cornell University in New York has prompted a Haliburton County woman to organize a candlelight walk and vigil in Head Lake Park, Haliburton this coming Sunday (Oct 25).
Jennifer Wilson said the idea came about after a client reached out to her “super distressed” about the news from the U.S.
Wilson said her “soul purpose is to help people to align body, mind and spirit, get past things like anxiety, and working through transitions of life.”
She added her client was not alone in her feelings. Wilson, too, felt distressed and was having a hard time. She was thinking, “me too if I’m being super honest.”
She pondered what she and others could do with these thoughts. Wilson said she kept returning to a quote by Rumi: “beyond the idea of wrongdoing and right doing, there’s a field and I’ll meet you there.”
That led to “how can we bring people together, without it being a protest, without it being angry words or taking on the hurt of it… so I thought why not start with our community? Why not come together? Why not hold space for each other?”
She added, “it might be about the Cornell episode, it might just be something you’re struggling with; grief, sadness, anger. Whatever it might be I think as a collective, it’s time to just come together, show support for each other. Some people may be in a position to hold space, where others need someone to hold space for them.”
Wilson said the walk is for men, women, and children. People are asked to gather at the park bandshell at 6:15 p.m. with the walk starting at 6:30 p.m. She said it will be a silent procession and candlelight vigil along the park pathways. Each person will carry an unlit candle, which they will light together in a silent circle of unity and shared reflection at the end of the walk. People are asked to bring an unlit candle (with a paper drip guard), or an LED tea light. Extra candles and lights will be available at the bandshell for anyone who needs one.
Wilson said the event has drawn a positive response.
“It’s being really well-received and almost a collective sigh of relief that we can do something together to show each other that A, you’re safe in your community and there’s lots of good people that want to stand side-by-side with you and help you feel your emotions and B, we’re going to be using honourable silence … which is not about staying quiet, but a deliberate practice of putting down arguments and noise so we can really listen and feel each other’s emotions.”
She added, “there might be three people there, there might be 300 people there. It matters not. The thought that we could come together like that is a beautiful thing. I think of it as that little flicker. Someone might have the tiniest little flicker in their heart. They might say, ‘that would be really nice, but it’s not for me right now’. But it has sparked a little bit of interest of ‘I wonder what it would be like to just walk by myself with a candle’. Even if it sparks that, that’s fine.”
Wilson added they will also be using an ancient practice of carrying a worry stone. “As you walk, you can contemplate what you want to place into that stone, and you can toss that stone into the water and feel like you’re releasing something. It doesn’t need to be words, just feelings.”
