Judea and Samaria is the place to be....so glad to be living on the same piece of land my ancestors have been living on since Abraham first ventured here in 2500 BC.
We live across the street from this amazing "choorsha" which is like a park. It is an area of about 40 dunams of land that has been recently renovated with paths and lighting. It has trees, grasses, even the occasional wild crop remaining from generations past, and of course the beautiful wild flowers that are so common in this part of the Holy Land. In this magnificent area is this thing called a 'GAT" which is an ancient olive press. Imagine, centuries and millenia ago people were crushing olives to make oil and here I am no more than 30 meters from that exact spot.
Sometimes I walk through and imagine what it must have been like back then. First I chose a time period so I can imagine what the houses or thrown together living quarters looked like. Then I try and imagine the types of clothing the people wore. It takes quite a bit of time and a huge dose of imagination to conjure it all up because these were individuals, siblings, parents, cousins, neighbors in fact a whole tribe. Putting clothes on them and tools in their hands makes them come alive. Having them survive on this hilltop amongst the various forces of weather and seasons is a real treat. I get to use my wild cat Dracula as a model of what it must have been like for these Children of Israel to survive the elements. Watching Dracula drenched after a rainfall is quite a sight. He hides beneath the green growth but still winds up wet...what those ancestors of ours must have gone through is something else.
But they lived here. At times they must have had great days. Smiling, loving, laughing, enjoying the fruits of their labor. Kids running and playing. Dogs, cats and even wild animals to make their lives difficult. Season after season they lived in peace and tranquility in a paradise that supported their lifestyle. Nights around the fire, stories of their ancestors. A good piece of meat on the fire and life seemed to be as good as it got.
Then the ugliness. The attack that would inevitably come from down the path and wreak havoc. Delivering suffering and death and even the end of the civilization on occasion. Even then, fear and greediness were never far from here. Always something to fear. Thats this land. Was, is, and might always be.
What would really be nice is to able to share it with anyone who wants to live here in peace and prosperity. But that is not going to happen any time soon because its just so hard for people to feel good about other people feeling good. But its been a dream of many for a long time, so who knows, maybe, with the help of the creator of the universe, it can happen sometime soon.
I took a ride down to Jerusalem about a month ago through the backroads and it struck me how much space there is out here for development or at least for people to live in peace one with another. And that's only what I saw from the window of my car so its limited to about 500 meters or so from the car. There are so many hilltops that can be used to generate eco-friendly energy. There are also lots of flat places to grow food, thousands of hillsides to let sheep and goats wander around on....wow...its just incredible that the plenty here is crowded out by the "whats in it for me?"
But it is just my insight into things. Others see it as a continuous battle ground. A place where you can say I stole this and where I can say you are a murderer. Its been like that for so long that it seems like the natural way of things.
But today is all we have so I'll enjoy what I can while I can. Maybe you can smile too and that will be enough.
Peace.
We live across the street from this amazing "choorsha" which is like a park. It is an area of about 40 dunams of land that has been recently renovated with paths and lighting. It has trees, grasses, even the occasional wild crop remaining from generations past, and of course the beautiful wild flowers that are so common in this part of the Holy Land. In this magnificent area is this thing called a 'GAT" which is an ancient olive press. Imagine, centuries and millenia ago people were crushing olives to make oil and here I am no more than 30 meters from that exact spot.
Sometimes I walk through and imagine what it must have been like back then. First I chose a time period so I can imagine what the houses or thrown together living quarters looked like. Then I try and imagine the types of clothing the people wore. It takes quite a bit of time and a huge dose of imagination to conjure it all up because these were individuals, siblings, parents, cousins, neighbors in fact a whole tribe. Putting clothes on them and tools in their hands makes them come alive. Having them survive on this hilltop amongst the various forces of weather and seasons is a real treat. I get to use my wild cat Dracula as a model of what it must have been like for these Children of Israel to survive the elements. Watching Dracula drenched after a rainfall is quite a sight. He hides beneath the green growth but still winds up wet...what those ancestors of ours must have gone through is something else.
But they lived here. At times they must have had great days. Smiling, loving, laughing, enjoying the fruits of their labor. Kids running and playing. Dogs, cats and even wild animals to make their lives difficult. Season after season they lived in peace and tranquility in a paradise that supported their lifestyle. Nights around the fire, stories of their ancestors. A good piece of meat on the fire and life seemed to be as good as it got.
Then the ugliness. The attack that would inevitably come from down the path and wreak havoc. Delivering suffering and death and even the end of the civilization on occasion. Even then, fear and greediness were never far from here. Always something to fear. Thats this land. Was, is, and might always be.
What would really be nice is to able to share it with anyone who wants to live here in peace and prosperity. But that is not going to happen any time soon because its just so hard for people to feel good about other people feeling good. But its been a dream of many for a long time, so who knows, maybe, with the help of the creator of the universe, it can happen sometime soon.
I took a ride down to Jerusalem about a month ago through the backroads and it struck me how much space there is out here for development or at least for people to live in peace one with another. And that's only what I saw from the window of my car so its limited to about 500 meters or so from the car. There are so many hilltops that can be used to generate eco-friendly energy. There are also lots of flat places to grow food, thousands of hillsides to let sheep and goats wander around on....wow...its just incredible that the plenty here is crowded out by the "whats in it for me?"
But it is just my insight into things. Others see it as a continuous battle ground. A place where you can say I stole this and where I can say you are a murderer. Its been like that for so long that it seems like the natural way of things.
But today is all we have so I'll enjoy what I can while I can. Maybe you can smile too and that will be enough.
Peace.
rob, i wish everyone could share your vision
unfortunately things get politicized and force, violence and aggression are substituted for, voluntarism, negotiation and the freedom to choose
just keep having that "conversation" and point out that peace and prosperity is the ticket
