Reflection and Renewal 2005-2006

As the clocks of the world tick away the final hours of the year 2005 one can look back and relive moments of such pain, such tremedous breathe taking scenes of Mother Natures destruction, Tsunami, Hurricane, Flood, Fires, Storms, Lost Lives, War, Famine, Disease and the death of Heroes of Worldy stature...indeed what a year it was. When the year began we had such high hopes, we had traveled far to the land that belongs to our people, Israel...we were overjoyed, then overwhelmed and surprised by so much of what we witnessed there, and in the end we were simply overcome with the frutility of even trying to stay where we were not really wanted, and where we would surely live in desperate poverty for the rest of our lives and so we joined so many thousands of others who had to start over this year with near nothing! We have been blessed beyond measure by family, friends, buisness assosiates and strangers during this time of returning to Long Beach! The year has been a million years long in our minds, and our hearts still long for life to be Peaceful!
Like so many who saw this year change their lives completely we are still recovering from the shock of it all, and we have deep empathy for those who survived the storms of this year, and we pray for them as we do for ourselves that 2006 will be a year when the world sees real change toward Peace and Genuine understanding, when those who suffered and lost so much can heal from the scars that such a year inflicts.
When, the last moments of this year tick away...and the last strick of the clock signales the begining of 2006 I am certain that there will be many people who will feel a twinge of fear, some moment of trepidation at what may lay ahead of us, just out of sight as we round the corner, and there will be those who celebrate with not a thought of all that has been, wrapped up safe and snug in the blanket of pleasures that this modern world of ours provides, there will be those who won't notice that the year has changed, those whose suffering is still fresh or who have succumbed to the depths of dispair that such events can cause, right alongside them there may be people who never think of anything or anyone but themselves. What if for just a moment in time we were all able to see through each others eyes, and experience through each others minds the year that has nearly passed. What if we could all join together and agree that for the length of time it takes the new year to creep across the time zones of the world we would all hold only thoughts of Peace! What a change world we might come into if by some mystical magical encantation we could really see Humanity as One, and Mother Nature as deserving of our care as our own bodies. What if we could heal Gaia from all the pollutants that now inhibit her very life, and cure disease, poverty and hatred with a prayer! Well, maybe the best we can hope to accomplish is making Peace in our own corner of the world...but then we could at least try to start the first moments of the New Year in contemplation of the what if's...and maybe just that would be enough to give us some of the Peace that was intended for us.
We wish you all, dear friends and family the Best of New Years, May you be Blessed with Peace, Hope and Faith and most of all may you enter into a time of Love not just of yourself and your own but of Humanity in all it's varied faces!

Synergy, Holidays and Miracles

Tuesday, December 06, 2005
Synergy, Holidays and Miracles
The holiday season stretches before us like a road leading into the magic of a fairy forest, everywhere we turn there are holiday signs, bright colored wreaths on doors, lights in windows on the nighttime walk, and people in general this time of year seem to be happier than usual...or is it just us?We returned home to the United States from Israel in the week before Thanksgiving, coming home with four bags which contained mostly clothing, our old dog and cat and each other. We were once again about to start over in life, a scary thing no matter how often you do it, we had virtually nothing stepping off the plane into the waiting and kind arms of a dear friend, who just also happens to be our landlord. He took us as we were that day, sad, tired beyond the point of sleep, hungry and worried how we would get by. He gave us an apartment, and a bed to sleep on, table, chairs and to my great surprise a piano! Not just any piano either but a baby grand stood in the empty apartment when we arrived, it had been his, and the apartment was his mothers...we were in those first hours simply overwhelmed.
Now near a month later we look around and every where there is evidence of the love and synergy that life is able to give in such circumstances. Many friends rallied to our aide, dishes and the stuff of a kitchen came, a small couch and two lovely chairs, a bedroom set with dresser, mirror and side tables, a box springs and mattress at cost ...the things of which a home are made began to appear. Each day brought a new gift, a new feeling of the generosity and goodness of good people toward us in our need!We hear so much about the evils of the world, and we had suffered such a great trauma at the hands of our fellow Jews in Israel, that this synergy of giving and caring poured over us like balm over a wounded soul. As we walked the streets of our beloved Long Beach, we saw smiles and heard over and over Good morning, hello, nice day isn't it? And many times we have been wrapped in the warm and loving hugs of those we know...we feel so very blessed...we arrived for the beginning of the holidays, and were treated to a wonderful Thanksgiving dinner cooked by our friend Robert, and enjoyed the company so much, just being at a table where English was the language of choice and no one held a side bar conversation in native Hebrew was a breath of fresh air.
What has happened to us during this last two weeks is more than synergistic, more than just an outpouring of holiday joy it is nothing short of a miracle. To come home with nothing, no money and no 'things', not even a coffee mug was very difficult, to not know where the things to make up an apartment would come from, to not know whether we would be able to feed our animals, let alone ourselves was very frightening. We had prayed much about the move back and it had come down to simple TRUTH, in a moment, once the decision was made, Theo took a deep breath and emailed his old office, would they have him back, and more importantly could they help us with plane tickets...the answer was only hours in coming...YES! Theo stopped holding his breath and I began the task of deciding what we could take, clothes mostly, and not much else, the stuff of our life would simply have to stay where it was, we would have to start over!
Once the decision was made time moved ahead so quickly and things fell into place so well that we almost forgot that we would be facing the same problems of no money on the other side of the oceans we would cross on the way home. What the synergy of life had in store for us, we could never have guessed. The words I write here can not begin to explain all that we have felt since coming home, we are so very grateful to each and everyone of you who helped us,to the family of Neway Packaging who helped us come home, to friends who lent from their pocket so that we could start again, to the neighbor who brought down lamps, to the man who checked us through customs, all of you are champions among the people, every smile, every quick shake of the hand or caring hug. every evenlope of love bearing gift cards or money has meant more than all the silver and gold we could ever possibly possess.
As the rest of the holiday season unfolds we wish for you the very happiest of times, the best of everything life can offer and most of all we offer up a prayer that all of us may always know such freedom as we have in this great country of ours, the joy of good times, the love of family and friends and miracles unending! May all of you be blessed with holiday spirit, with Peace and understanding and may the New Year find us open to the synergy of life !
posted by Leah PettePiece 11:25 AM 0 comments