Healing is a remarkable and powerful attribute in our own bodies, of course, but also in broader human affairs and in the world around us. Time passes, wounds knit and terrible events fade into the past in a process of renewal that is creative as well as restorative.
Snorkeling in the beautiful waters below Gunung Api, the “fire mountain,” we had a rare glimpse into the healing and renewal of a coral reef ecosystem. Twenty-six years ago the volcano above us erupted, pouring two great streams of lava down its flanks and over the reefs below. Today, we can see the frozen rivers of black rock dividing the forest above the sea, but below the surface was a lush new growth of branching corals covering everything. These are fast-growing species and in some cases they had grown so fast that some had broken off beneath the weight of others growing over them. This is the very process by which enormous reefs are created – corals grow and die, one on top of another, reaching up toward the light of the sun, creating the reef layer after layer. We swam above a new beginning.
Later in the day we visited a small village on the neighboring island of Banda Run. After our tour of Banda Neira the previous day we were all aware of the terrible events in the history of these little specks of land, wars fought and atrocities committed for spices more precious than gold. But on Banda Run we saw no remaining evidence of these conflicts. Instead we walked through a pretty little town and were greeted again and again by smiles and calls of “Hello, hello!” It was clear that our visit was welcome, even though we came on a powerful ship from far away, an echo of visits long ago that were far less peaceful. The relationship between the residents of these little islands and explorers like ourselves has healed to a remarkable degree. We walked up steep steps through the village and then up steeper paths to the nutmeg groves, once the cause of conflict, now quiet and shady under the equatorial sun.
