Faces along the journey
Traveling is a vivid collage of life's details, the pain and the suffering next to the beauty and joy that make up the lives we all live. As we separate ourselves from the familiar and venture into the unknown we are able to more clearly see these details.
Often in my travels the pain and injustice seem the most striking and capture my mind and heart which is then poured out on paper or in conversation. But the true beauty of the road are the faces that you meet along the way that offer you a glimpse of something that you didn't know before...something that changes who you are...
Ben was formerly in the Special Forces for the Israeli Defense Force until a suicide bombing terribly injured his leg and almost cost him his life. As we sat and spoke about life while enjoying a few glasses of wine he taught me that it is still possible to respect and even love your enemies even under the most difficult of circumstances...he gave me hope
Stumbling across the Jordanian border I found myself at a bit of loss on how to continue my way to Amman, until I ran into Yngvil. Yngvil works as the Middle East correspondant for the major newspaper in Norway and currently lives in Jerusalem. Her fluent Arabic and years of experience in the area made travel a breeze and her perspective on the conflict opened my eyes to new angels. As she shared about her interviews with Yasser Arafat, Palestinian militants, and Israeli Generals and their humility or pride I saw the weakness in us all and continued to be humbled
With a sketch book, pencils, and chalk in his bag David has made it from Scotland through Egypt and onto Jordan with a wide array of material. David won the biggest art scholarship in Scotland last year and has dedicated his project to following the path of the Alchemist of old from Egypt all the way to Hungry. His mere sketches of Petra took my breath, but his explanation that he views himself as the apprentice, the one who is truly transformed in the process of alchemy, is what took my heart. Never stop the changing force of life.
As the border guards went through every item in my bag as I tried to make it back to Israel, Samir waited patiently for me so that our bus to Tel Aviv won't leave me behind (delayed two hours at the border!). Samir is a Palestinian with Israeli citizenship who laughed and shared smiles and jokes with me even as we passed the prisons along the road that hold thousands of Palestinians. You could see the frustration in his eyes as we passed them, but a hope in his voice that at least we would learn something by seeing them as well.
Hey Mate! Rang out from waiting room, as a friendly Australian stuck his hand out at the Egyptian Embassy. Tim has been traveling all over the world shooting a documentary on how different societies deal with the social problems in their home countries. From the US to India and now the Middle East he has lived with the homeless, the oppressed, and the broken in order to begin to understand how they live. With a huge smile on his face he gives every person he meets a thumbs up and a resounding "thanks mate!" He tells me all this is new to his young and easy life back in Australia, he is eager to learn and eager to love...if only we could all be like Tim
This is just a tiny dip into the richness of the people I have met along the way and how they have changed me. This is the fun part of life, where joy is found...and I am so thankful.
Often in my travels the pain and injustice seem the most striking and capture my mind and heart which is then poured out on paper or in conversation. But the true beauty of the road are the faces that you meet along the way that offer you a glimpse of something that you didn't know before...something that changes who you are...
Ben was formerly in the Special Forces for the Israeli Defense Force until a suicide bombing terribly injured his leg and almost cost him his life. As we sat and spoke about life while enjoying a few glasses of wine he taught me that it is still possible to respect and even love your enemies even under the most difficult of circumstances...he gave me hope
Stumbling across the Jordanian border I found myself at a bit of loss on how to continue my way to Amman, until I ran into Yngvil. Yngvil works as the Middle East correspondant for the major newspaper in Norway and currently lives in Jerusalem. Her fluent Arabic and years of experience in the area made travel a breeze and her perspective on the conflict opened my eyes to new angels. As she shared about her interviews with Yasser Arafat, Palestinian militants, and Israeli Generals and their humility or pride I saw the weakness in us all and continued to be humbled
With a sketch book, pencils, and chalk in his bag David has made it from Scotland through Egypt and onto Jordan with a wide array of material. David won the biggest art scholarship in Scotland last year and has dedicated his project to following the path of the Alchemist of old from Egypt all the way to Hungry. His mere sketches of Petra took my breath, but his explanation that he views himself as the apprentice, the one who is truly transformed in the process of alchemy, is what took my heart. Never stop the changing force of life.
As the border guards went through every item in my bag as I tried to make it back to Israel, Samir waited patiently for me so that our bus to Tel Aviv won't leave me behind (delayed two hours at the border!). Samir is a Palestinian with Israeli citizenship who laughed and shared smiles and jokes with me even as we passed the prisons along the road that hold thousands of Palestinians. You could see the frustration in his eyes as we passed them, but a hope in his voice that at least we would learn something by seeing them as well.
Hey Mate! Rang out from waiting room, as a friendly Australian stuck his hand out at the Egyptian Embassy. Tim has been traveling all over the world shooting a documentary on how different societies deal with the social problems in their home countries. From the US to India and now the Middle East he has lived with the homeless, the oppressed, and the broken in order to begin to understand how they live. With a huge smile on his face he gives every person he meets a thumbs up and a resounding "thanks mate!" He tells me all this is new to his young and easy life back in Australia, he is eager to learn and eager to love...if only we could all be like Tim
This is just a tiny dip into the richness of the people I have met along the way and how they have changed me. This is the fun part of life, where joy is found...and I am so thankful.
posted by Scott at 1:16 AM
3 Comments:
Thanks for the post. It makes me smile thinking of you out there traveling the road. Makes me think of our encounter with people like Richard and the fing people person :-).
hey scotty...i really enjoy reading your stuff. keep it up, you present some fresh perspectives.
btw, do you have a mailing address in sudan to which i can send a package?
Love the travels - looking forward to having you here. And to answer enarsons's question NO packages in Sudan :) Unless your with the UN or USAID. Stupid diplomatic priveledges.
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