A Breathe of Life

Bethlehem, Palestine

Today I was walking through Bethlehem, a relaxed Saturday morning before an adventurous week leading youth reconciliation camp in Tel Aviv. Every day on my way to and from Jerusalem, I pass by several overflowing shrubs of Jasmine, aerating my stroll to work with a pleasantly sweet fragrance. Once upon a time, I made a rule for myself to not pick anymore flowers, this was inspired by a moving quote, “To love something is to let it be.” I wanted to practice this in life, so I started tangibly with something I loved very dearly, flowers.

But with this Jasmine it is different, you see this Jasmine brings life to me every morning and every evening, it is a special piece of joy to have and to physically hold. So once a day, either a morning delight or an afternoon treat, I carefully pick the most beautiful banquet of white flora, openly displaying a delicate array of lovely petals, the one wildly blossoming with life. And I hold this precious jewel so close to my nose, breathing in such an extravagant aroma, sighing out with a smile and a warm thought. “This must be how Heaven smells.”

Only a few blocks down the street, the most stringent odor smothers Hebron Road as clouds of remaining tear gas and suffocating sewage water showered on businesses, homes and sidewalks loiters after last night’s demonstrations. As some of us slept, angry Palestinian fighters gathered in solidarity and rage for disgusting, inhumane destruction devastating the people of Gaza. Just 45 miles away lives are being ripped and obliterated apart by the dozen each night. Every morning we wake to gruesome pictures and an unfathomable death toll.

For the past few weeks, every new day is greeted with a new challenge, a new heart-breaking thought or image to breathe in, another disastrous story that no human-being can wrap their mind around. And then I walk outside, and I am greeted with a warm smile by the same old man cleaning the streets in the Old City, and by the time I get to the bottom of the ancient stone road, there is a cheery bread vender who always has fresh, endearing words to start my day. I pass friends and new acquaintances who say hello and ask if I have time to join them for coffee. And then, there is the Jasmine shrub. The refreshing, fluorescence of Jasmine perfumes the atmosphere as I walk through the blissful headwind. Every day, without fail, this precious flower vine is alive in its sensational beauty and breath-taking aroma.

I stop to breathe this Life in as if it is medicine. I take my daily allotment of flora and hold it to my nose, breathing in every magical sensation, and with every deep scent I am reminded that this Earth is not a cold, dead place. The reality is seen in a smile that comes so natural from one human to another, in beautiful vines of flowers that are soothing and loving in their very nature. A flower does not stop its fluorescent smell just because there is pungent sewage water in the air. The sewage water may overshadow its fragrance, but it is still there.

There is depression, anger and rage shadowing the heavy hearts in this terrible time. I cannot begin to speak on behalf of Gazan residents who are facing unimaginable suffering. But I also cannot accept to lose faith. Focusing on a refreshing scent of a daily flower, or a warm greeting from a new friend is a reminder that this cold, dark hostility is not how it is supposed to be. This journey we human beings are going through together is called ‘LIFE,’ it is living, it is active, it is energetic, it is growing, it is producing, it is ALIVE.

What we are witnessing in Gaza is far from Life, it is death.

So what can we do to help the people of Gaza? We are seeing something so traumatic happen before our very eyes, and the feeling of helplessness is crippling and depressive as escalation proceeds before we can create a louder voice. But it seems that we can make a choice that can make a change. If we are witnessing death, and praying, hoping and longing for life, then LIFE is what we need.

This past week Israeli and Palestinian kids came together at Musalaha summer camp to create friendships and sow seeds, nourishing the life within these children, so that they might be active, energetic and growing, producing Life for the future. Empowered, passionate Palestinians are gathering to positively create documentaries that reveal the Life within a Palestinian, reveal the humanness within them to love, to live, to dance and enjoy life. Writers are giving voice, dignity and recognition to the lives of fallen citizens in Gaza, who deserve, even in their death, to be an acknowledged part of Life.

Human beings are living, active parts of this life, meant to flourish and blossom just like a bountiful Jasmine shrubbery. To dehumanize a person or people group is to take them out of Life, and to murder them is to take away all value for their existing contribution to Life.

 I am left wondering, if conflicting human beings met face to face, with no tool other than their voice, would their eyes be open to the life and value within the other? Could they see the slightest pleasant fragrance of life within the other human-being that might overshadow the encompassing odor of power, unsettled differences and prejudices?
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