Having started
life as a very shy and self-conscious girl, Dorothy has gone on to become a
vocal and prominent member of the community. In her time, she has fought to
break down many a social stereotype, and just because she is 74 doesn’t mean
she can’t break down yet another social stereotype: old age!
So, to celebrate
her 75th year in this world, the mother of four and grandmother of ?
has gone and got herself a tattoo! A Celtic tree symbol on her wrist, to honour
her Scottish heritage.
“My
grandchildren think it’s really cool!”
But more than
just a funky grandma, Dorothy is living proof that old age isn’t all doom and
gloom.
“I think you can
choose to start dying before you die,” says Dorothy. “Some people retire and
then everything stops. To me, that would be a form of dying. I think to be
alive is to be engaged with life, be it politics, movements or whatever. To try
and change things still, I’ll be doing that till the day I die.”
And change
things she has certainly tried to do. As a younger woman, Dorothy expelled her
energies, not only in raising her four children, but immersing herself in
countless radical movements.
“I think I lived
in a period where there were a lot of movements for change. In my middle years
there were all these Ban the Bomb, Anti-Vietnam War, Anti-Apartheid and Women’s
Movements. I just got involved.”
However, with
the benefit of hindsight, Dorothy sees that her deep involvement in such causes
was also a way of ignoring issues about herself and her own sexuality.
“I think I
decided very early on that marriage didn’t feel right, but, I was married for
34 years. That was largely due to me immersing myself in other things, such as
the movements, the church and caring for my children.
“I am not sorry
for that, but now I know I was sometimes using those activities to stop me
facing who I was and entering my inner life. I needed to own and share my
vulnerability and deal with my tendency to boost my own ego.”
It was not until
her forties, a time when society tends to hand out used-by dates to women, that
Dorothy started to embrace who she really was and became a prominent figure in
the community.
“I learned a
lot! I found my true vocation in ordained ministry. I then faced my sexuality.
I felt an enormous sense of relief, that at last I could be true to myself. It
was the hardest thing I’ve ever done. But I never ever regretted it, not for
one second, even though I was full of grief for hurting the people I loved.”
One benefit of
age, says Dorothy, is the focus it has given her. “As you get older you have a
different perspective on things. You can see your life is not endless, and you
want to choose more carefully how you spend your time and energy. You decide
what the most important things are for you.”
So in 1997, when
Dorothy “outed” herself at the Uniting
Church’s Perth Assembly,
she decided to retire instead of staying to fight. “I had to choose between
fighting endlessly for my position or leave and do something more creative. I
was so close to retirement and also wanted to spend more time with Ali, my
beloved partner, so I retired.”
It was then that
Dorothy found her way to the South Sydney Uniting
Church and The South Sydney Herald.
“I believe that
my writing and my creativity keeps me alive, along with my commitment to The South Sydney Herald and its building
of community.”
As Dorothy sees
it, getting older isn’t a burden or a bore but more of a revelation.
“In fact, in my
75th year, I am far more aware of my humanness than I was in my
earlier life. I laugh at myself too.”
“I don’t mind
that I won’t and can’t always see the results of the things I try to achieve. I
am just one unique speck in eternal human existence and I do my little bit,
that others may carry on.”
Photo: Ali Blogg
: The famous tattoo
Source:
South Sydney Herald June 2008 www.southsydneyherald.com.au