WHILE THE KETTLE BOILS

New Zealand Listener, Volume 1, Issue 12, 15 September 1939, Page 11

WHILE THE KETTLE BOILS

Dear Friends, I had a letter all planned for you this week, dealing with further activities for the Centenary Celebrations, but faced, as we all are, by the tragic world happenings, I am moved instead to talk to you of those happenings and their effect on us all. Though we were prepared in some measure for the final blow, it did not make it easier when eventually it came. It fell with a stunning force on all those who listened to Mr. Neville Chamberlain’s momentous words -"We are at war!" A thousand terrors were released on us; a bitter procession of memories from the last World War that will live again in the struggle we are about to face, I was one among thousands who listened to those fateful words. I felt bewildered, heartsick;. lost in a world that had suddenly lost all reality. It was like moving in a nightmare. I thought of all the women throughout the world who are about to be bereaved, and it seemed their pain was like some gigantic burden laid on the shoulders of the world. I felt it, physically. The thought of sleep that night seemed intolerable. It is my habit each night to read a little before retiring, and to make notes of any interesting facts or details I may chance across. I had no conscious intention of doing that this night, yet all at once I found myself with my book and pencil in hand, seeking my old place in front of the fire. The truth came to me then, and with it a comfort and an inner conviction. I no longer felt lost. I had caught at an anchorage and I knew a new courage: It is a truth that will help you dll. Simply this--Keep on with your job. We've all got our job. If it is only pottering about the house -it is your job. And in it lies your salvation, It will keep you steady and sane in a world that has suddenly gone mad. It will give you something to hold to; something to which you can turn your bewildered thought. It is in reality your anchorage. Cling to it. These are not mere words. I have proved their truth. It' is impossible to think or live in a state of chaos. In the days of trial ahead of us it is imperative that we create for ourselves a proper mental viewpoint. You will best achieve this by "Keeping on with your job!" You will find that things will settle into their right proportions, and no matter what we are called upon to face in the future, you will be able to meet it calmly and to see it in its right perspective. My thoughts and hopes are with you all,

Cynthia