Death
At the time of her death, on the 16 August 2004 she was doing a Murdoch University degree course (which she helped establish) in "Gaia philosophy and environmental ethics". That year she won the Vice Chancellor's Award for Academic Excellence.
From her deathbed, Elanta suggested that cancer is a breakdown in the communication between the cancerous tissue and the body of the person carrying the illness. It draws attention to the similarity between cancer and our present condition, and suggests that cancers "come as messengers, to come home to our bodies and come home to the Earth".
In the adjournment speech of the Western Australian Parliament, Dr Christine Sharpe quoted one of Elanta's poems and added, "Members can see that this was a remarkable and wise woman whom we will all miss greatly."
About 250 friends and relatives celebrated her life at a funeral service in Kings Park, Western Australia where a rainbow coloured bracelet was given to everyone. Part of the blessing was; "Wear it constantly and use it as a catalyst for personal activism in your daily life. May you draw strength and inspiration from her outrageous courage, passion and love of the Earth and all her creatures, human and more than human".
To honour her memory as "an enthusiastic and excellent student" who designed her own degree in environmental ethics, and because "her example continues to inspire and enlighten. In memory of Elanta the ISTP has set up a new award for academic and environmental excellence called The Vivienne Elanta Yummy Book Fund." This award started in 2005.
There is a street name been proposed to honour Vivienne in the Canberra suburb of Wright.
Read more about this topic: Vivienne Elanta
Famous quotes containing the word death:
“Because men really respect only that which was founded of old and has developed slowly, he who wants to live on after his death must take care not only of his posterity but even more of his past.”
—Friedrich Nietzsche (1844–1900)
“Monarchs ought to put to death the authors and instigators of war, as their sworn enemies and as dangers to their states.”
—Elizabeth I (1533–1603)
“To die proudly when it is no longer possible to live proudly. Death freely chosen, death at the right time, brightly and cheerfully accomplished amid children and witnesses: then a real farewell is still possible, as the one who is taking leave is still there; also a real estimate of what one has wished, drawing the sum of one’s life—all in opposition to the wretched and revolting comedy that Christianity has made of the hour of death.”
—Friedrich Nietzsche (1844–1900)