A friend who lived in The Holy Land for 5 years has wonderful inspiring stories from his time there. Here is one of them.
Haifa is known as being different from the rest of the Middle East in general and Israel in particular due to the level of inter-religious cooperation. Documentaries have been filmed in Hafia about this phenomenon and broadcast on national television. In one, the documentary narrator asks why can't the Jews, Muslims and Christians in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv cooperate and live together in peace like the Jews, Muslims, Christians, and Baha'is in Hafia. The history of inter-religious cooperation began with Abdu'l-Baha's then radical actions of distributing food to the hungry, medicine to the sick, and money to the poor regardless of what religious or ethnic background the needy belonged to. The Rabbis, Mullas, and Priests in Haifa would often follow the Master to ask questions about their Holy Books because He knew their Holy Books better than they did and He would always answer their questions with quotations from their own Holy Books. The Rabbis, Mullas, and Priests in Haifa noticed Abdu'l-Baha's distributions to the needy regardless of ethnic group or religion was practicing the best their own religions taught. This insight combined with the Master's efforts to eventually create a level of religious cooperation in Haifa that is unknown elsewhere in the Middle East. One documentary on the religious cooperation in Hafia was entitled "Abbas Street," which is the name of the street that was named after the Master's given name, Abbas Effendi. One night I drove some friends to a potluck dinner on Abbas Street, and after dinner we saw that cars had double-parked behind my car, beside my car, and in front of my car, making it impossible for me to drive my car anywhere. I saw three little girls playing together in the street, and had purchased books and tapes on speaking Hebrew and Arabic for just such an occasion. These three little girls may have been Jewish, Muslim, and Christian, because Abbas Street is known for the mixing of ethnic groups and religions. When I tried to ask the little girls for help, they immediately recognized my horrible American accent, and replied in English, "How can we help you mister?" I showed them how my car was blocked in, and then the girls ran off to find the owners. Although Haifa is the third largest city in Israel with more than 300,000 residents, the inter-religious cooperation has enabled the city to retain the qualities of a small town, such that the little girls knew who owned each car and where each car's owner lived. The girls must have told the owners about my horrible American accent because the cars' owners appeared and apologized in English. The cars around my car parted, and I felt like Moses parting the Red Sea as I drove through the parted cars which closed the space behind me. If a similar incident had occurred in Jerusalem or Tel Aviv, angers could have flared, a fight could have started, weapons could have been used, and a life could have been tragically taken. However, in Haifa all that occurred was an incident that I could later recount as a funny story. The people in Haifa do not need government programs or any outsiders to tell them that inter-religious cooperation is good, for many have experienced the benefits of living lives free from prejudice thanks to Abdu'l-Baha. The question that many people often ask is whether peace is possible in the Middle East. The question that they should be asking is what can be done to help the peace that already exists in Haifa spread to the rest of the Middle East.
A morning hug from Matthew that he requested with great enthusiasm, rice pasta and turkey tomato sauce on the stove, hot tea, an hour at the park, big spinach, tuna and almond salad for lunch, another big zucchini from our garden, writing in the moments just before dawn and going to bed in the first light of bird song, reading "Thunder and Lightning", by Natalie Goldberg, cool evening air, praying with David, friends reaching out to me, bananas, sunshine, Matthew leaning out of the car before getting in because the air smells nice then running to give Grandpa a hug, Devyn telling me that he likes me and being determined that we need a picture of this second zucchini too, Devyn easily making friends and making up games with them at the park then running and smiling, the realistic prospect of being in theater again soon and combining it with spiritual education of children....
At the park as dusk settled in to night, little tiny rain drops fell on us one at a time, so we weren't sure if it was really raining. When Matthew announced "Morning hug" and threw open his arms, his smile was just as open and loving. When I ate lunch, I felt peaceful and nourished. I read Thunder and Lightning as I ate and easily went to the times of writing practice over 11 years ago. When Devyn reached out to me, I reached back and we talked about life, then he did my hair in a very creative way :).
It's 5:23am again. I see the light outside. I hear little sleep sighs down the hall. I must get back to sleep. Though there's something so sweet about waking at 3am with energy, writing to a friend, then listening to the bird song increase with each passing moment.
Teresa and Matthew are asleep. We read extra books in honor of Teresa's first sleepover. Matthew applauded this decision. She came with her own bed time readiness case and back pack, both pink :). First she was in the boy's bed and Matthew in our bed. Then they tried to share our bed. Then a few errands, like getting more stuffed animals and Devyn's robe and my jacket to snuggle to sleep. Then Teresa went back to their bed(I think Matthew was having a harder time getting to sleep w/o mom in the room) and soon fell asleep. I just checked on them and Matthew had turned the light on but was sound asleep. Teresa was not where I first checked, like with her head on the pillow holding her animals. She was in the bottom middle of the bed over the covers and sideways.
Before the sleeping part...While it was light out they had a short game of adventure in the front yard, we said goodbye to David with a big group hug and then they both told me they were going to hug me so hard I'd be in two pieces. They tried and I pretended to be in two, crumpling and making faces. Once inside, Teresa and Matthew played with a few toys then Matthew took his 30 minute turn on the computer. Teresa tried to be interested in this, but once he stopped playing with the kitty and started playing a strategy game she wandered back to the alphabet machine, draping herself over the couch upside down. I had forgotten how much she likes to be upside down in chairs. After Matthew finished his computer turn, they ate a snack, tried to play with playmobil then I redirected them to Lincoln logs where there were no good and bad guys, no powerfuller anyone and Matthew was not trying to finally be the big kid and be bossy(oy and fortunately this was the only time he did this, and was happy to be quickly guided to better ways). They liked the little horse stable/house we built. I liked singing our bedtime book of well known songs with repeating lines. Even the ones Teresa didn't know she always tried to sing along and soon could stay with the repeating parts. And Matthew soon lost the desire to interrupt with silliness and started singing along too in his soft timid way :) . Such a sweet way to spend a Sunday night.
Tonight reminds me of how precious these days together are. Our family is 10 years old and so new.
I followed millions and watched Thriller. I sat with my heart in my hands because it was my childhood sitting there in the room with me. The childhood that has been coming back to me in strong emotions in recent months, crying, "Look at me, feel what I couldn't feel when I was 12, when I had to focus on staying safe." I watched the whole video. I could see again clearly that Michael Jackson has had a great influence on dance(among other things obviously). I also realized that life on earth in America was painfully difficult for youth in the 80's. Seeing it from the perspective of a 37 year old mother of 2, from the perspective of someone who was half real and half created for the audience of her peers until 11 years ago. After Thriller I watched Beat It and parts of a few other of his videos. Then I wanted to hear Duran Duran. I wanted to remember those long sunlit afternoons in Allison Utech's living room listening to The Chaufer, Hungry Like the Wolf...dancing because we had this energy, this creative energy and no guidance, no help in channeling it to good. Oh that those who can may connect with those who are lonely. I look back and think we could have been connecting with our elders. I'm idealistic about this. I see these lost eyed people wheeling themselves slowly around nursing homes and I wonder who would come out and live again if there were more dancing. Not necessarily to Duran Duran. I wanted to hear the Chaufer even though I know not what it is about. I know that it sounds like beauty and longing. I don't listen to the words and I don't intend to. I listen to the sound of the music, the shadow shape of the words as if they are not words at all and that's how I found meaning to it when I was younger. It was longing and love, wind on my face and I was dancing in to it. I haven't talked to Allison in years. I miss her. That's what I have done this afternoon. I sit on my couch, earphones in, traveling the swift distance between then and now. The tears come, I am enveloped in a memory of dust in the light that streamed in her front window in the room next to the record player. The room with hardwood floors, the room just for company that needed to be dusted regularly. But in the afternoon, before working parents came home it was ours, we were alive and we were happy.