Pics from Israel

Road to Rainbow

Jerusalem in my rear view mirror and in my sights. Im driving down south through the blue ridge mountains to the rainbow gathering in Arkansas by candle lights. Old friend down the road calling, calling me back, welcome home. Cheep coffee, cheep sunglasses and gospel tunes. Endless slathers of concrete pass me by, mile makers in the corner of my eye. I feel at home on this open road beneath an endless sky. Truck-stop sits like an ancient fortified shelter town, with gaping monoliths, along some historic trade route. We the pilots of the inter-outer-State sit in greasy diners and grant our terrain battered eyeballs a moment of breath. Welcome home.

BIG HUG!

This is a pretty mediocre news clip from an incredible event called "the Hug around Jerusalem". A couple thousand humans, Jews, Muslims, Christians, Buddhists, Hippies, Religious, Atheists, you name it, gathered at different gates around the ancient walled city and gave her a long overdue, good 'oll fasion hug. We held hands and chanted words of peace and comfort to the old city, the epicenter to so many peoples spiritual practice, and we tried to imagine what real peace would actually look like. It was totally positive. Some pro-tests quickly deteriorate into anti-test where people vent and point fingers. This was a gathering of vision, of dreams, of how we want it to be. We hugged the walls in silence and then in song and then a drum circle dance jam session boogie broke out by the (predominately Arab) Damascus gate. Yes folks, its true, it might not have made the cover of the New York Times or CNN, But Jews and Arabs danced together in celebration, in public, for the whole world to see. It felt great. Sometimes the situation out here can make us feel paralyzed and helpless. We leave the mess for the politicians to try and fix over coffee at negotiations that thus far have proved fruitless. The hug felt empowering and uplifting and the celebration lasted all night. No borders were shifted and no grandiose documents were signed, but something changed a bit. Perspectives were shifted. One can't help but look at the "other" with a new pair of eyes after one has danced with him and prayed with him. Im not sure how, and its not something I can prove, but Im pretty sure that a big part of the healing that must take place out here will be with music and dance and people dreaming together over late night cups of tea. All the big religions proclaim God is one, Jah is one, Great spirit is everywhere and everything, we're all interconnected. If only we actually believed this. Imagine your cutting a cucumber and you slip and cut your left hand. Left hand would never pick up a knife and strike back at oll righty. Its clear to us that these two are interconnected and part of a greater oneness. By celebrating we connect, when we connect we can greater see oneness, the clearer we can see the oneness the greater becomes our impulse to live harmoniously, and that, and the hokey pokey, is what its all about.