If the following story happened to you, how would you respond?
What choices would you make to create a new future from the ruins of crisis and tragedy?
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A university student and lead singer in a band starting to make its way on the Sydney music scene, 23-year-old Peter was sleeping downstairs in the Lindfield family home on Sydney's North Shore when fire broke out on the top floor of the two-storey house about 2.30am. He was forced from his bedroom by the smoke before hearing his mother Betty's desperate screams for help from her upstairs room.
Police later said that Betty’s cries for help were heard more than two blocks away.
Peter, rushed from his downstairs bedroom and tried twice to get up the stairs to his mother.
But he was forced back both times by smoke and flames.
Neighbours still remember that "terrible night" in 1977 when the Cape Cod-style wooden house went up in flames.
They remember Peter standing in the middle of Eton Road, shouting and screaming "My mother's in there" through the pain of burns to his own face and hands.
Three fire trucks arrived, but could not save 50-year-old Betty from the gutted house.
A neighbour said the street took up a collection for Peter and his brother Matthew, who were left with nothing after the fire.
"They didn't even have clothes for the funeral," the neighbour said.
Peter’s father had died of an illness when the budding musician was still in school.
(These are edited excerpts from this Sydney Morning Herald article )
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Fast forward 32 years, and where do we find Peter?
Is he dead? Has his life been ruined by the tragedy? Has he turned to drugs and alcohol to cope with the pain of this enormous suffering and loss?
No.
In 2009, 32 years on, Peter Garrett is standing in the spotlight, centre-stage at the Melbourne Cricket Ground; his reformed band, “Midnight Oil”, headlining the biggest paid concert in Australian history – the “Sound Relief” benefit concert, to raise money for those affected by the North Queensland floods, and the Victorian bushfires.
His is a story of perseverance, determination and an unyielding passion to make a difference; to contribute to humanity and help make the world a better place.
Not only did Peter remain in his band after the tragedy, he focussed his energies and passions towards the things that were closest to his heart.
He became a political, social and environmental activist.
In the late 1980s and 1990s, he became president of the Australian Conservation Foundation . In 1993 he joined the international board of Greenpeace .
In 2000 he was awarded the Australian Humanitarian Foundation Award in the Environment category.
In 2003, he was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia for his contribution to environment and the music industry.
And, after the Labor Party won the Australian Federal election in 2007, Garrett was appointed Federal Minister for the Environment, Heritage and the Arts by Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd.
He is still a serving Minister today.
Here are the insights and wisdom that Peter garnered from his tragedy…
"If you can talk about what happened in any way, you can say that it hurts but it also focuses you on what's important and what's real in life."
Garrett said the important things in life were the power of love and the necessity for love.
"And the necessity to be able to work and develop relationships with family and friends, and to be productive in civic and creative life."
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This current economic crisis presents all of us with an opportunity to rebuild and start afresh.
What future will we choose to create for ourselves, and our world from the ashes of this crisis?
After reading Peter Garrett’s inspiring story, I know which path I will be choosing to take.
How about you?
