Tag Hope

Malakhi

freyathewriter 2 Comments

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A teacher, a rabbi came to this earth

courtesy of a star, a manger and a virgin birth.

Ages before, despite the temple’s destruction

oil of one day stretched out to eight –

– imagine the miracle!

Hope lights our times, shadows flee in their wake

Hanukkah, Christmas in one time combined.

Faiths diverge but converge all the same

in their wishes for peace and love and brotherhood,

if you can cut through the soundbites and posturing, that is.

I am a mongrel, one foot in the Deep Mid Winter of my past

My heart swelling to Baruch Hu as I whisper Kaddish in memory.

Y’hei sh’lama raba min sh’maya

Bitter sweet at this time of disruption

For all that is gone, for all that has broken

For all that divides in words left unspoken.

Amen.

Shalom.

Salaam.

Shalom Aleichem.

As Salaam Aleikum

Oseh shalom bim’romav hu ya’aseh shalom

Let us welcome the Malakhi, in whatever form he – or she – takes.

******

It’s been a while. Longer than I thought. Life, you know?

Last night saw the first night of Hanukkah and Christmas Eve – two miracles for the price of one. It inspired me to take some time during a small oasis of calm to share my thoughts, my feelings, to highlight just a tiny slice of the similarities in the underlying hopes of the three Abrahamix religions, not to mention in some of the words used in greetings and wishes bestowed.

Yes, it’s probably a bit clumsy (I’ve not written for a while) – but it’s all me.

Whatever faith you follow or not, I send my love to you, my brothers and sisters in this messed-up, argumentative worldwide family of ours.

 

TJ’s Household Haiku Challenge -Vibrant

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cacophony, colours,

creeds and genders, all life

is here, we are blessed

 

enjoy difference

relish in the new, welcome

all, open your heart

 

Another week has whizzed by, and here we are again, prompted by our Francophile Antipodean friend, TJ, to pen another haiku! This week, he has offered us the word vibrant, or a lovely image of some flowers to whet our appetite. I went for the word, inspired (I’m not sure if that’s really the correct word) by the political wranglings that we have seen here in the UK, post shock Brexit vote.

I was brought up in a multi-cultural Birmingham, loved the variety, the sights and sounds, the smells of a city where vibrant colours could be seen and (to me) mystery tongues could be heard on every street corner. Of course, there were struggles, of course there were differences, but I have no doubt that I benefited from meeting and learning from others from different cultures from such an early age.

In my heart, and my mind, everyone is welcome. I don’t care who you are, or where you come from, as long as there is respect, as long as there are open hearts and minds, as long as there is love.

 

Bite – SoCS July 9/16

freyathewriter 2 Comments

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I never did like weak orange squash when I was a kid. Even worse, insipid Roses’s Lime Juice Cordial or, the mother of all sharp drinks, PLJ. I wanted the bite at the back of my tongue, I wanted it to make my eyes water just a little. I really wanted to experience it, in all its pleasure/pain combinations. ‘Dilute to taste’ wasn’t really a phrase that I wanted to hear, when my taste was (and still is) for strong, sharp-toothed experiences. I like concentration.

Life can be, quite frankly, almost unbearably challenging, tough, hard and gut-wrenching. It can also be glorious, touch the clouds sky-rocketing, amazing and awesome, in the true sense of those two words.

Sometimes, I hunger for calm and peace, especially in the space that my brain occupies, behind my eyes and between my ears. But, honestly, much as I relish the fleeting calm, I adore the highs, and they would not be quite so high, without the lows.

Concentration. No dilution. Distilled to the basic, overpowering essence. That’s what drives me and feeds my creativity. Writing without passion (of the dark sort or the light) for me, is almost impossible.

 

It’s time for another Stream of Consciousness Saturday post, prompted by the lovely Linda. This week, her prompt is ‘Concentration’ to be interpreted in any way we see fit. Can anyone identify with my thoughts, I wonder?

It’s a fun thing, to let your thoughts meander where they will. Why not hop on on over to Linda’s blog, read a few entries, or take the plunge and take part?