Every morning when I walk with the dog in the fields, which is usually very early in the morning, we meet all sorts of different people.
Some come for the Arab villages around us, others live in our kibbutz, others come from the Druze village... or they are tourists who are taking a healthy walk.
Some of them I meet every morning, some I see once a week.. others it will be just one time.
We all greet each other, say Shalom, wish each other a very good day and then continue ! Even though it is only a few seconds I really like it ... we do not know each other, but for a moment we are part of each others life.
It always reminds me of a friends wedding in Holland that I was invited to ... years ago... It was a church wedding, something I am not really used to. The service was very impressing, with lots of beautiful prayers and words. Half way through the service something wonderful happened. The person who was in charge and doing the prayers suddenly said.." now please turn to your neighbour, the one on your left, and on your right, the one in front of you and the one behind you, shake hands and wish him or her Shalom." And that is what we all did. Later I was told that this is always part of their service.. a beautiful gesture, a gesture that I still cherish very much.
Thursday night in our garden we could hear the bells chiming from the churches as well as the calls for prayer from the minarets as I was already preparing for our Shabbath the next evening.
Perhaps it is just a matter of listening more to each others bells and calls and saying more often "Shalom" to each other ...!
With Love, Joanne
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