One of the incredible things about working with people in the world is that the news no longer feels far away- it becomes personal, about our friends and loved ones. This experience of the world is incredible. That wall of separation we have where things feel unreal or far away or not about us just collapses. And that is a very good thing. When the news becomes something that touches us – or when we become able to touch the events in the world, we become more a part of things and our participation becomes more urgent.
I have been thinking about the events in Israel this past week. Having worked with the women of Beyond Words for the past few years I feel a very close connection with what is happening. I have learned so much from working with these women. On one level it feels that one of the simplest and at the same time most powerful thing that we as human beings can do is to sit with the “other”, the “enemy” and learn about the ways we are the same. As I have watched these women over the years I have seen the profound shifting that happens in points of view and perspectives as we listen to our enemies. Sometimes I think if everyone in the world did this we would have peace. But here is what is required- we have to sit with deep complexity, discomfort, strong feelings, disagreement, and still be able to hold onto our shared humanity. This is not easy- think about sitting in a room with someone you disagree with strongly, now throw in the energy of oppression, terrorism, death, bombs, fear. The people who do this are true heroines.
Complexity is something I think about a lot these days. If we as a world are going to survive we must develop greater tolerance for the complexity in which we live. There are not easy answers, in fact the need for simple and easy answers is part of the problem. We need to develop the capacity to sit with discomfort and not knowing for long periods of time. We need to be able to see beyond our own life spans into a future that that will be affected by our ability to allow its emergence through our tolerance of the present and service to this future. What an honor to give ourselves over to this.
I have included an e-mail I got from Nitsan, one of the leaders of Beyond Words. It touched me deeply- it touched me because she wrote about herself and also her co-leader Sylvia. Nitsan is Jewish and Sylvia is Arab. I love them both. They remain friends, they listen to each other, they see things differently and yet they know the only way is to stay in connection and listen and care and speak honestly.
It is truly something to do this deep emotional work with these women who process their feelings around war and loss and fear and hate with each other. They are my inspiration and my teachers. I have included here some pictures from our work together as well as a video I took when I was with them in Mobile Alabama. You will see from watching it the joy and aliveness that they have with each other even as they process the conflict they face together. Women laughing and crying with each other as a path to peace; I’m there!
