Transitions and Gratitude

I apologize for my long absence from the blog-o-sphere. In my defense, it has been a very, very busy month of transitions. About a month ago, on July 21st I packed up my belongings in Jerusalem, went for a run around the Mount of Olives with views of both the West Bank and the Dome of the Rock and got ready to fly back to the United States.

I arrived back home and had only one short week (actually really just five days) to spend some much needed time with my family and friends, unpack and wash all of my clothes and belongings, repack all of my belongings and move into my new house with some dear friends from college and start orientation for an Americorps position at a refugee agency. I have now worked for three weeks at the agency and I am really enjoying the work, and my colleagues.

I have been reflecting a lot about my experiences of the past year in Palestine and I keep coming back to all I have learned about gratitude. In Ramallah, I had the honor of becoming part of Farashe, a nonprofit yoga studio in the heart of the city. Farashe’s vision is to bring the health benefits, the peace and the inner joy of yoga to the Palestinian people under Occupation. It is an amazing place.

Yoga taught me that it is hard to be feel upset and grateful at the same time, so when you are feeling really angry, frustrated or annoyed about something that you cannot change right now, it is effective to instead redirect that energy toward taking stock of the things for which you are grateful. In the yoga studio our instructor started and ended each yoga practice with gratitude to ourselves and to each other. Living in the midst of military occupation can be really frustrating, so I really appreciated spending that mental energy seeking inner peace and strength instead of boiling in anger. Of course, it is good to have some anger in order spur change, but you simply cannot seep in it all the time. I marveled at how powerful it was to dwell on gratitude instead of anger.

Perhaps dwelling on gratitude came more easily to my Palestinian yogi comrades, since Arabic is a language of gratitude. It has been described as something of a formal dance, similar to a waltz. The first person curtsies and the second bows in return. The entire dance becomes a series of formal give and take. So it is with Arabic, one formal phrase of gratitude begets another such phrase in response. There are many, many more ways to say “thank you” in Arabic than there are in English.

In her book Mornings in Jenin, Susan Abulhawa writes, “In the Arab world, gratitude is a language unto itself. ‘May Allah bless the hands that give me this gift’; ‘Beauty is in your eyes that find me pretty’; ‘May God extend your life’; ‘May Allah never deny your prayer’; ‘May the next meal you cook for us be in celebration of your sons’ wedding… of your daughter’s graduation… your mother’s recovery’; and so on, an infinite string of prayerful appreciation. Coming from such a culture, I have always found a mere ‘thank you’ an insufficient expression that makes my voice sound miserly and ungrateful” (169-170). While learning and practicing Arabic, I found the formal exchanges of gratitude to be indescribably beautiful. When someone gives you a cup of tea, in Palestine you would respond with what in English would be, “Bless your hands”. Such eloquent language for the articulation of even minor gratitude makes one think about the importance and power of expressing gratitude.

With these beautiful models of gratitude in mind, I must express my gratitude for the incredible experiences I was fortunate to have this past year in Palestine. I am humbled with gratitude for the teachers and students at the School of Hope from whom I learned so much about education, resilience and hope. I am grateful for my yoga studio, and yoga teachers with whom I found some peace, laughter and friendship in the midst of a military occupation. I am grateful for my choir, Zaridash, for sharing the solace of community and music in the midst of occupation. I am grateful for my awesome Arabic tutor, Mohammad, who patiently taught me how to read, write and speak in Arabic but also taught me about Palestinian culture and the importance of a mid-lesson cup of mint tea. 

I am so grateful for friends in Palestine who made Ramallah my home. I am grateful for the church communities and organizations in Palestine and their work toward building peace. I am grateful for the other YAGM volunteers and for our fantastic leaders who walked with us through the fun and, most importantly, the struggles of living in Palestine. I am grateful for the YAGM program and the ELCA for their incredible support to volunteers living abroad. I am grateful for all that I learned about myself in the midst of the challenges I faced this year. I am also immensely grateful for the fun, the laughter, the play and the joy. I am grateful for the opportunity to travel around Israel and Palestine, to learn a new language, to eat amazing new foods and to have the honor of calling a new city home. 

Please accept my deepest gratitude for you, dear supporters. It is an honor to know that I have had such great individuals cheering me on throughout this adventure. Shukran/Thank you! 

I have decided to keep blogging since it has become a fun exercise in writing and reflection. Therefore make sure to continue to check back and hear about my adventures and reflections in the United States! :-)