Itinerary

Greetings!

Well, one more sleep in my own bed, and then one sleep at a friend's house before I'm off!

I thought that I would share some information about getting to Israel from home, and the return plans. First, I fly from Winnipeg to Toronto on Tuesday, November 18. From Toronto it will be on to Vienna, Austria and then on to Tel Aviv, Israel. Arrival in Tel Aviv is scheduled for late afternoon on Wednesday, November 19 (with the time change, this will be earlier in the day on the 19th in Canada). Our delegation leader will meet us at the airport in Tel Aviv and drive us to the Golden Gate Hostel.

The return sees departure from Tel Aviv, a brief stop in Vienna, back to Toronto, and then to Winnipeg, all on December 2. I have plans to stay a couple of extra days in Winnipeg, to debrief with some classmates who are also part of this delegation.

As far as where we'll be and what we'll be doing while we're in Israel, I can't say for sure. We're also told that access to communication (i.e., internet and telephone) will be minimal. As such, it is likely that I won't post anything new until I return. For those who are just finding their way to this site, it will give you a chance to catch up on past posts and some of the links, if you wish.

Thanks for following. We'll talk soon.

Blessings,
Rob.

The Blind Men and the Elephant

Greetings,

As I pondered last night's offering, into the dark of night, I remembered this story and I thought about how it connects with the differences between my truth and yours, as an example...

It was six men of Indostan

To learning much inclined,

Who went to see the Elephant

(Though all of them were blind),

That each by observation

Might satisfy his mind.

The First approach'd the Elephant,

And happening to fall

Against his broad and sturdy side,

At once began to bawl:

"God bless me! but the Elephant

Is very like a wall!"

The Second, feeling of the tusk,

Cried, -"Ho! what have we here

So very round and smooth and sharp?

To me 'tis mighty clear

This wonder of an Elephant

Is very like a spear!

"The Third approached the animal,

And happening to take

The squirming trunk within his hands,

Thus boldly up and spake:

"I see," quoth he, "the Elephant

Is very like a snake!"

The Fourth reached out his eager hand,

And felt about the knee.

"What most this wondrous beast is like

Is mighty plain," quoth he,

"'Tis clear enough the Elephant

Is very like a tree!"

The Fifth, who chanced to touch the ear,

Said: "E'en the blindest man

Can tell what this resembles most;

Deny the fact who can,

This marvel of an Elephant

Is very like a fan!"

The Sixth no sooner had begun

About the beast to grope,

Then, seizing on the swinging tail

That fell within his scope,

"I see," quoth he, "the Elephant

Is very like a rope!"

And so these men of Indostan

Disputed loud and long,

Each in his own opinion

Exceeding stiff and strong,

Though each was partly in the right,

And all were in the wrong!

MORAL.
So oft in theologic wars,

The disputants, I ween,

Rail on in utter ignorance

Of what each other mean,

And prate about an Elephant

Not one of them has seen!

John Godfrey Saxe ( 1816-1887)

Blessings,

Rob.

What Isn't Being Said

Hello,

I thought that it would be good to name that there are some topics concerning Israel and the Palestinian Territories that I have not addressed, to date. My reason for this is that the things I know are interpreted from what I've read. They are not things which I have experienced first hand, and though I might trust the sources of the information, they are not my stories.

Still, I would like you to recognize that the stories I've read about the Separation Wall are stories that I carry. Perhaps I will be enlightened to its purpose, its limitations, and even its virtues once I meet some of those who contend with it on a daily basis...

And I would like you to recognize that the stories I've read about the political situation - the impending election - are stories that I carry. Perhaps I will learn from another's experience, the privilege it is to participate freely in decision-making. Perhaps I will be party to the hopes and fears of change; change that has the ability to radically alter one's life...

This evening I also read an internet story about a rocket attack in Gaza... The ramifications of this upon my journey may or may not be fully known in such a time as to affect this delegation. The truth is that for as much as we can prepare for anything, the reality we experience can be profoundly different from anything we might anticipate.

Someone told me today that to understand God's time, God's will, God's purpose for us, we must be patient. This is good advice as the number of sleeps (4) until I wing across the Atlantic become fewer and fewer. And so, the best preparation I can think of is to be rested and open; it's not to read too much into the little snippets we're fed in the media, which I am convinced has its own agenda.

And as for those things that aren't being said, maybe once they become part of my story, I'll feel more comfortable talking about them.

Blessings,

Rob.

One Week to Go

Greetings,

Well, one week today I will be on the first physical leg of this adventure, traveling to Winnipeg in anticipation of Tuesday flights that will eventually see me in Tel Aviv.

For the most part, my preparations are all made (e.g., vaccinations all complete, supplies all together, pre-reading done), though final packing won't happen until this coming weekend.

In the past few days I have received phone calls and emails from CPT leaders (as have my co-travellers), offering further information about this delegation. They have offered from their experience scenarios of what might be encountered by travellers to the Middle East, in terms of what we might expect at custom points. What I recognize from their stories is a greater issue around trust, security and respect that is not limited to the Middle East, but is woven into much of culture where their is distrust, fear and disregard for others.

I think that it's important to remember that these delegations are not interested in causing trouble, but are interested in bringing attention to places that require healing. By doing this work, I believe that everyone is then given the chance to recognize their place in the brokenness, as well as their power, abilities and gifts that can contribute to the healing... It just seems that the distance between brokenness and healing is pretty huge, sometimes...

In spite of this, our humanity should be a powerful motivator, even if we can only take one step at a time toward the future; even if we can only reach out one hand in welcome to one stranger; even if we can only speak or sing one word of challenge against injustice. And I know that this is hard work, but because of our humanity, I believe it is shared work.

Blessings,
Rob.

The Box

Greetings,

I remember first hearing this poem recited on a John Denver album (see Discography). Though the album had been out for awhile, it was one that I bought while I was in high school. It remains poignantly in my conscience, all these years later. I think this is so, considering all the choices that are available to us in life, and at this time of year, when the thoughts and feelings of Peace Sabbath fade and those of Remembrance Day begin to surface...

The Box (Lascelles)

Once upon the time in the land of Hush-a-bye,
around about the wondrous days of yore,
I came across a sort of box,
bound up with chains and locked with locks,
and labelled, "Kindly do not touch. It's WAR."

A decree was issued 'round about,
all with a flourish and a shout,
and a gaily colored mascot tripping lightly on before:
"Don't fiddle with this deadly box,
or break the chains or pick the locks,
and please, don't ever play about with war."

Well, the children understood.
The children happened to be good,
and they were just as good around that time of yore.
They never tried to pick the locks
or break into that deadly box;
they never tried to play about with war.
Mommies didn't either.
Sisters, aunts and grannies neither;
'cause they were quiet and sweet and pretty in those wondrous days of yore.

Well, very much the same as now,
not the ones to blame, somehow,
for opening up that deadly box of WAR.
But someone did.
Someone battered in the lid
and spilled the insides out across the floor.
A sort of bouncey, bumpy ball
made up of guns and flags and all the tears and horror
and the death that goes with war...
It bounced right out and went bashing all about
and bumping into everything in store,
and what was sad and most unfair
is that it didn't really seem to care
much who it bumped,
or why,
or what,
or for...

It bumps the children mainly,
and I'll tell you this quite plainly,
it bumps them every day and more and more,
and leaves them dead and burned and dying;
thousands of them sick and crying.
'Cause when it bumps, it's really very sore.

Now there's a way to stop the ball.
It isn't difficult at all.
All it takes is Wisdom, and I'm absolutely sure
that we can get it back into the box,
and bind the chains,
and lock the locks;
but no one seems to want to save the children anymore...

Well, that's the way it all appears,
'cause it's been bouncing 'round for years and years,
in spite of all the Wisdom-whiz in those wondrous days of yore.
And the time they came across the box,
bound up with chains and locked with locks,
and labelled, "Kindly do not touch. It's WAR."

Blessings,
Rob.

Counting Down

Greetings!

Time is rolling on and as November 18th approaches I experience these surreal moments of, "Wow! This is really happening!"

Though there are still things to focus on as preparations continue, I have these indescribable moments where the reality seems, well, unreal. That my life's journey has brought me to this place is excitingly hard to believe. It's like one of those not-in-a-million-years kind of things where I don't believe I could have planned this...

Yet, here I am, poised to journey to the Holy Land and all of the uncertainties that such a journey, in this day and age, has to offer.

There are a lot of people in my web of connections, who are excited for me. And, much like the excitement that I feel, I am hearing them express anxiety and joy about what this journey might hold in store. It makes me wonder about how the North American/Western Hemisphere lifestyle is one that finds stability and meaning in comfort, contentment and security. What I mean is that, in my context, people seemed to be bred to the rhythm of a society that isn't very flexible, to say nothing about its inability to be spontaneous.

For the people living in a different culture, with different norms and values, I have a sense that there might be a firmer grasp on the reality of the Holy; where life is more natural and less artificial, that's where the mystery of creation and the Creator lie... This reminds me of Beguine spirituality and the medieval mystics who, by emptying themselves became more fully or wholly in touch with God; the Source of Life...

As the days of wondering what lies ahead for me disappear into the calendar, my best preparation is to not think or worry or plan too much. The experience will be what I need it to be, at a spiritual level likely beyond my conscious planning and plotting. Que sera, sera!

Blessings,
Rob.

Peace Sabbath

Greetings,

Earlier this week, as I took some reflection time in my office, my eyes settled on a button pinned to my bulletin board. In a multi colored script it said, "If you want peace work for justice."

Yesterday, as I was pondering thoughts about Peace Sabbath, these words came back to me, and what I realized is that as much as we might long to live, day after day in peace, peace is the end product. In that way, peace becomes the goal.

I can't help but think how easily the word is tossed around, to the point where the word itself almost becomes meaningless. And so, I wonder if instead of simply speaking it, as something that is out there, we should pay more attention to the words (or actions, or tasks) that get us to peace? I wonder if instead of worrying about how insurmountable the work of achieving peace might seem, we should put our hearts, minds, backs, hands, feet and voices into those things that help to make peace a reality?

And so, I wonder... I wonder what the result of being humble would be? I wonder what playing fair really looks like? I wonder what justice means to those who simply want to live simply? I wonder if the difficult and time-consuming work of truth and reconciliation is worth the end result? I wonder what the hidden message in Jesus commandment to love was? I wonder what it will take to accept the work of peace, instead of thinking it's someone else's responsibility?

Blessings,
Rob.