{"id":9702,"date":"2014-12-12T00:27:45","date_gmt":"2014-12-12T08:27:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/?p=9702"},"modified":"2014-12-11T00:19:37","modified_gmt":"2014-12-11T08:19:37","slug":"nature-knows-no-borders","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/2014\/12\/12\/nature-knows-no-borders\/","title":{"rendered":"Nature knows no borders"},"content":{"rendered":"

Traveled thousands of miles<\/em><\/p>\n

Inching my way<\/em><\/p>\n

Between mothers, children, prayer books<\/em><\/p>\n

Vying for space, so that I may touch<\/em><\/p>\n

Your precious stones<\/em><\/p>\n

Stones that have heard millions of tears<\/em><\/p>\n

Stones that hold hope and anguish<\/em><\/p>\n

Weeping and praying surround me<\/em><\/p>\n

And I cannot hear my own sigh as I ask<\/em><\/p>\n

Will you negotiate?<\/em><\/p>\n

I plead<\/em><\/p>\n

as I fold my scrap of paper<\/em><\/p>\n

Tiptoeing upwards<\/em><\/p>\n

to search for<\/em><\/p>\n

a vacant space I ask<\/em><\/p>\n

like so many before me<\/em><\/p>\n

Can you make a miracle?<\/em><\/p>\n

\u2013 Jerusalem 2013<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Dawn has just broken. I\u2019m walking along the beach, inhaling whiffs of sea spray. White Rock\u2019s lights are fading in the distance, and ocean and skies are turning blue together against the backdrop of a glowing sunrise.<\/p>\n

The hotel manager told me that if I rose early I would catch all of nature\u2019s beauties. I\u2019m not disappointed. Harbor seals are out fishing, birds of all shapes and sizes have begun their morning songs and skim the ocean for breakfast. A mother porpoise and her baby are playing, and fishing boats are gliding smoothly over the waves.<\/p>\n

The only sounds are the whistling of crickets, high-pitched cries of seagulls and the rhythmic hiss of the surf. Once in a while, my laptop informs me of a new message but, fortunately, nature wins. I have the discipline to ignore it; nature wins.<\/p>\n

This little corner of the world spells P-E-A-C-E.<\/p>\n

The hotel has changed hands many times in the 30 years I\u2019ve been coming here. Every visit has been different, with a purposeful or personal story.<\/p>\n

Nature, though, is always consistent. Out in the natural world, I receive solace and my writer\u2019s block dissolves, at least 99 percent of the time. This year, writing about peace feels like the one percent block. And an impossible task begs a purposeful visit.<\/p>\n

The scenery is breathtaking, except for the tall unsightly steel object placed in the middle of water, a physical manifestation of the boundary between countries. I note that the boats are sailing to either side of the eyesore.<\/p>\n

In the natural world, the skies and seas are open for birds and other creatures. No passports or border patrols needed. I am reminded of a 2012 BBC travel article, titled \u201cWhere birds know no borders.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cUnrestricted movement between Israel and the Palestinian territories is not always possible for those on two feet,\u201d the article reads. \u201cBut if you shift your gaze upwards, something entirely different comes into focus.\u201d<\/p>\n

A migration of a billion birds belonging to more than 540 species traverses through the skies each autumn and spring. Both governments have set up centres for avid birders who come from all over the world to see this spectacular sight.<\/p>\n

Could this be a miracle, like the one I asked for last year at the Wall?<\/p>\n

As I move my gaze away from the metal border structure and back to reality, I wonder if nature, prayer, music and dance can help us engage and connect with the world.<\/p>\n

Can we create more connected global communities? Can we uncover commonalities that reduce conflicts? Can we build more peaceful nations? Miracles happen daily in nature. Look no further than the dove.<\/p>\n

\u2013 Blaine, Wash., 2014<\/strong><\/p>\n

Jenny Wright<\/strong> is a writer, music therapist, children\u2019s musician and recording artist.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Traveled thousands of miles Inching my way Between mothers, children, prayer books Vying for space, so that I may touch Your precious stones Stones that have heard millions of tears Stones that hold hope and anguish Weeping and praying surround me And I cannot hear my own sigh as I ask Will you negotiate? I […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1314],"tags":[2722,2721],"class_list":["post-9702","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-opinion","tag-nature","tag-peace"],"blocksy_meta":{"styles_descriptor":{"styles":{"desktop":"","tablet":"","mobile":""},"google_fonts":[],"version":8}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9702","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9702"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9702\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9702"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9702"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9702"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}