Healing and More

First full day the delegation. It’s a training delegation- we are studying Compassionate Listening and learning in the fire. The next twelve days we will have many opportunities to listen to people on both sides of the conflict here.

Today was all about getting to know each other, having an intro to CL and then touring the old city of Jerusalem. The old city is amazing- narrow streets, old stones, Roman archways, small crowded shops, Arab music, jostling humanity, smells of spices and coffee. The Western Wall and the Jewish quarter were imposing. Old old architecture dating back so far with so many periods- cycles of destruction and being rebuilt, layer upon layer. Jerusalem was invaded 20 times. So many temples and holy sites, the conjunction of religions, so much concentrated into such a small area, the old city is a square half-mile. It is a distinct world, ethnically diverse, filled with humanity and history, so much ritual, so many icons, so much that is sacred. The history of the Jewish people here is fascinating.

The Church of the Holy Sepulcher is amazing. I somehow never considered that it be something I would actually see- the actual site where Christ died on the cross, the station where he was anointed, the place of his tomb. Learning about those things when I grew up, they somehow seemed so far back in time, almost lost, like a legend. Yet here are the sites, preserved, commemorated, visited, adored, and adorned with art and ritual. We wandered and looked and learned until late, came home through a downpour with rivers of water flowing across the old stone, stepping up and down the curbs and cobbles, weaving in and out of the crowds and following the convoluted turns of the alleys and narrow pathways. The hotel was a welcome respite.

There are a few disabled people on our trip- two on scooters, one almost blind. It adds a richness and depth to our journey, an awareness of what it takes for some people to get around, something we normally don’t have to think about. I spent the afternoon hand in hand with Linda who uses a white cane and doesn’t see well. It was wonderful, dodging obstacles, trying to miss the biggest puddles, pointing out what I was seeing.

This is all a gift and I am so grateful. To be in community with others who are dedicated to learning, understanding, and experiencing deeply- it is so rich.

The evening was a listening session with two men from the Bereaved Families Forum, an Israeli Jew and a Palestinian man from a village near Nablus. They came together and they call each other brother. They each spoke about their lives, and the transformative event of losing a child to the violence of the conflict. Both used the pain of the loss to burn through some inner resistance, to connect with the humanity of others who have had loss and both now are dedicated to working for peace.

“What are you going to do now with this unbearable burden? There are two choices- the way of revenge, but would killing someone else bring her back? Would causing pain to someone else ease yours? No The second path is harder, trying to understand how someone could become so angry , and asking what can you do personally to prevent this kind of anger.” Inspiring, painful, hopeful. We sat with tears, sharing their pain. They do lots of outreach, they have given 1000 talks. Meeting with groups along the full political spectrum. They reach people because the depth of their pain is so authentic. Rami characterized his work: “Banging our heads against the wall of hatred which divides our people. We put cracks in the wall and eventually will bring it down, because the alternative is too horrible. Pain has a lot of power and we use it to bring hope.”

Their organization is effective and well worth supporting: http://www.theparentscircle.org/