Sense The Invisible--Danielle Sargent

March 09, 2013

 

Speaking with Sister Mary, I have learned a lot of what it means to "listen to the voice of the earth". A couple days before entering the camp, she spoke with us about how it is important to "sense the invisible". The Centre in which we are staying does so much to create the opposite feeling of what was experienced in the camp. They are so accommodating, trying their hardest to relate to all of the different people (from all over the world), and make them feel comfortable. Sister Mary is one of those people. She has taught us that "everything begins with silence and listening". Because the events that occurred in Auschwitz I are so different from the type of culture or things that occur in the United States, the information given to us in the camp is overwhelming.  This is why it is so important for people at the Centre to create a warm and inviting environment to counteract the effects of Auschwitz. 

This being said, Oswiecim is a place of contradictions.  The nature as well as the feel of this town is very calm.  However, this natural peace is challenged by the haunting memories that exist within the camp as well as through the stories passed down through the generations by the survivors.  Sister Mary told us about how there are wild flowers that still grow within the camp as well as trees that existed even before the Holocaust occurred.  The piece that amazes me is that despite all that is happened and all that has changed in humanity because of the holocaust, there is still a constant:  nature.  Nature lives on its own despite human involvement.  The flowers that grow in the camps do not know that so many people died there.  The flowers still exist, grow, and flourish because that is what they are meant to do. 

 

Symbolically, this shows us (as human beings) that despite all of the horrors in the world, we have to continue on living for the better.  Humans should take example from nature.  The growth of a vine might be halted because of a fence that was placed in its way, but it just winds differently around it and continues to grow.  I have learned that it is important for humans to do the same.