Saturday, March 21, 2009
Tricky words
A book that have been reading soo incredibly slowly because I simply do not want it to end, 'The History of Love' has a part about words that just makes so much sense to me. Some special people in my life right now have been exposing their struggle to express themselves and their feelings. For me this is wild, I feel something and I often want to scream it from the rooftops (which also could be my downfall at times) but I find it so hard for me personally to bottle up my emotions without an instant explosion. Excuse the rambling but to me it's sad, as I have mentioned how beautiful words can be, I find it almost a crime to hold your words in. Here is the excerpt from Nicole Krauss's story...
'So many words get lost. They leave the mouth and loose their courage, wandering aimlessly until they are swept into the gutter like dead leaves. On rainy days you can hear their chorus rushing past: IwasabeautifulgirlPleasedon'tgoItoobeleivemybodyismadeofglassI've
neverlovedanyoneIthinkofmyselfasfunnyForgiveme...
There was a time when it wasn't uncommon to use a piece of string to guide words that otherwise might falter on the way to their destinations. Shy people carried a little bundle of string in their pockets, but people considered loundmouths had no less need for it, since those used to being overheard by everyone were often at a loss for how to make themeselves heard by someone. The physical distance between two people using a string was often small; sometimes the smaller the distance, the greater the need for the string. The practice of attaching cups to the ends of the string came much later. Some say it is related to the irresponsible urge to press shells to our ears, to hear the still-surviving echo of the world's first expression. Others say it was started by a man who held the end of the string that was unraveled across the ocean by a girl who left for America.
When the world grew bigger, and there wasn't enough string to keep the things people wanted to say from disappearing into the vastness, the telephone was invented.
Sometimes, no length of string is long enough to say the thing that needs to be said. In such cases all the string can do, in whatever its form, is conduct a person's silence.'
Tricky little words.
Monday, March 2, 2009
Through rose colored lenses...
I was sitting on the bus the other day and the boy in front of me was taking a picture out the window. From my seat behind him I could see exactly what he saw behind his lense, and then it hit me. I realized why I am so fascinated with photography. For one moment in time everything is frozen. A moment is frozen, a moment that the photographer saw something beautiful. Something worth pushing that button and holding that moment forever. You get to see what strikes others and moves others without any words. Through their eyes, they see something. and the moment I see a picture I think about the thoughts that may have came to mind at the moment the finger is released to hold this image. I feel a bit closer to the person, even a complete stranger. It's similar to the feeling I have when I peek through someone's music. To me this is just as personal as a secret diary. The playlist to our lives; the beats that make us, shake us and break us. They say, when words leave off, music begins...
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Her name was Free Spirit..
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Jewish Journal Article...
So I was given a few questions to answer from a woman who wanted to publish a "menshe" article in the Florida Jewish Journal...It stressed me out a bit, sometimes it's hard to find the words, especially on delicate matters such as the war. I hope it all came out right...whaalaah..enjoy.
1) What is life like in
The recent war (Or shall I say “operation”) along with the past elections has naturally made it a fascinating time to be living in
I recall a conversation that I had with a friend that I had made while I was sitting in a pile of army uniforms at a base in the South of Israel outside of Beer Sheva. My fellow ‘OTZMAnakim’ and I were a part of Sar-El which is an opportunity to volunteer in the Israel Defense Force. Ironically enough, we did this volunteering within the very week that the Operation Cast Lead had begun in
I think back to before I came to
2) How would you describe Project Otzma and your volunteer work in
‘OTZMAnakim’ joke about how we have the Otzma description down to a science. We always get the same questions. “Why are you here, and what are you doing” seems to come up every day from interested and curious Israelis. I would describe Otzma as the most rewarding, self-fulfilling 10 month post-college experience. It is hard to step outside of the whirlwind while it is in full circle, but as I try to put this experience into words, all I can say is that I can feel the warmth in my heart each and every day for the work that I am currently doing here in Israel. The first three months in
I am currently living in the north of
4) What inspires you to volunteer?
As Ghandi said, "Be the change that you want to see in the world." A year ago while I was sitting in my home in
6) What is the most meaningful part of volunteering to you?
I must admit on the first day that I came to visit the
Sunday, February 22, 2009
As the rain finally falls....
I embraced this rainy weekend, 'it's a great day for the poor Kinneret'
I find it hard to step out of the whirlwind while it is in full twirl but it would be an absolute bassa (shame) to forget the moments, the thoughts. I have been in Israel for about six months already and at moments I feel it has only just begun but from experience I know that these times fly by before the blink of an eye. I want to savor every taste, breathe in every aroma, feel every emotion, yada yada. Sometimes when I get lost in these dramatic tangents I joke to myself that I should offer some crackers to go along with all this cheeeeeese!
So I decided I was going to create one of the blogs to jot down the random thoughts, maybe a great quote I have stumbled upon or perhaps a suggestion for a movie to watch, a book to read, a song to listen to, a recipe to cook up...sit back, enjoy and share your thoughts along with me.
"If I am not for myself, who will be for me?
And if I am only for myself, what am I?
And if not now, when?"--Pirkei Avot
"The search for my glasses is endless,
so too is the search for me,
if only I could find them, I would have them,
so through my blindness,
I choose to go, to do and to be.~~~The first time I was in Israel we climbed to the top of a mountain, unfortunately the name has escaped me but the view was indescribable. We sat around in pure contentment and with pride for the mountain we had just conquered. A friend of mine told me this quote and it shook me, I held on to these words from that day on. It was beautiful and it was me.
Did ya know, 'Humans are the only animal that blushes, laughs, has religion, wages war and kisses with lips'
(not my words, but I like em)
~I do not care what car you drive. where you live. if you know someone who know's someone who knows someone. If your clothes are this years cutting edge. If your trust fund is unlimited, if your an A list or a B list or never heard of you list. I only care about the words that flutter from your mind, They are the only thing you truly own.The only thing I will remember you by. I will not fall in love with your bones and skin. I will not fall in love with the places you been. I will not fall in love with anything but the words that flutter from your extraordinary mind.~
Yesterday I was at a gas station in Afula and I was watching a van full of Hasidim Jews gathering around the gas pump trying to figure out why their pump was not pumping gas and for some reason I thought this scene was hilarious. A joke came to mind, how many hats does it take to pump a tank of gas....
it was so silly to me, I love that I can constantly entertain myself with the inner workings of my own mind, 'if you can't be your own best friend, than whadya got in life, nothin! Anyway this scene was one of those great 'only in Israel' moments that I simply adore which leads me to....drumroll please, my next blog-Only in Israel.....see ya then!