3 minute read
HEAD SHOTS
Reflections on what it means to remain steadfast, with Peter Sturrup, Head of School
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- Bayne Cummer '29
When I heard that the theme of this issue was “Steadfast in Challenging Times,” I immediately thought of the most well-known, well-loved of Pickering College readings, fondly known as Night Falls on All and written by Bayne Cummer.
Bayne Cummer ’29 was an outstanding scholar, loved by his fellow students, a model of the best things for which our school strives. Tragically, while working on the school farm the summer after he graduated, he succumbed to heat stroke and passed away, having just celebrated his 18th birthday.
Bayne left behind essays in the Voyageur as well as private journals. Many of his inspiring words have become part of the lore of Pickering College, the most famous being Night Falls on All, which serves as the final passage at Closing Meeting every June.
One does not hear the term steadfast much these days. Perhaps that is why my thoughts went immediately to Bayne’s words when I thought about steadfast in challenging times. For me steadfast implies a person who is firm in their opinions and beliefs, unyielding in the stand they take on something. It implies strength of character, determined resolve, unwavering loyalty, indominable courage. All qualities one could spend their life aspiring to; all qualities I would be proud to see Pickering students living … all qualities so many of them exemplify today.
Yet what moves me about the use of the word steadfast in Cummer’s passage is that he applies it to love, evoking images of deep, enduring, eternal love.
We have been inundated with reminders of how unprecedented the time is that we are living through right now. It is a perfect storm of economic malaise, political unrest, racial reckoning, tenuous mental health, a climate in crisis and, of course, a worldwide health catastrophe. And it strikes me that the solution to many, if not all, of these issues is the presence of steadfast love.
Not to sound naïve to the realities our world faces or Pollyannaish about what it will take to solve the incredible problems we face, but consider the qualities that love denotes: kindness, passion, commitment, tenderness, devotion, affection, longing, and understanding, to name just a few. Imagine if we used these traits to approach the problems we face today. Kindness to those who are suffering; passion to solve the insurmountable obstacles before us; commitment to changing the way we address racial injustice; understanding those with whom we disagree; tenderness and devotion to our planet.
Mother Teresa is quoted as saying, “We can do no great things, only small things with great love.” This is a call to action. We cannot afford to wait for the solutions to be given to us when the answers lie within us. Doing small things with great love does not require training, just practice; it does not require learning, just knowing; it does not require permission, just action. It will be hard work, requiring a leap of faith, a willingness to expose our vulnerabilities and the risk of being disappointed. We can each be steadfast in these challenging times; we each have the power within us to cope, to help, to inspire, and to resolve. All it takes is the quality we call love, put into action, one person at a time. Now, more than ever, what could be more important?
