Earth, Air, Fire And Water

An image came to me this morning. It brought me a rather elemental picture; as basic as earth, air, fire and water. Specifically it was a picture of how my new multi-cultural brothers and sisters and myself would/could be represented to one another through dance and music.

We would sing and dance, displaying for each other, the native music and rituals of the peoples of our origins. My personal version would be expressed by Klezmer music and dance, originating in Eastern Europe as did my grandparents. Klezmer is a melodious medium of expressing joy and other communal emotions that likely had its origins in Roumania, the birthplace of my maternal grandparents, known as Ashkenazi Jews.

Other Israeli folk dance such as the Hora, would also be a must to share. And, Israel’s national song, Hatikvah, would be presented too, expressive of the joy of a people returning to their homeland.

I am not a Zionist but the joy of song and dance often shows so much of who we are – and – certainly from where we come, beyond ordinary words. Klezmer, the Hora and Hatikvah are a part of me at my core.

I think I would like to experience this level of sharing with my new friends.  They are everywhere these days for me; the friends I am making through our Coffee House Conversations On Race Relations.  It would still be a little scary for me to be this open about my Jewish heritage. I am coming to realize this more and more since our conversations began. I have  learned, since I was of school age, that I needed to guard my Jewishness to assure my being safe.

But I want to grow this sense of openness with my new multi-cultural friends. And give this new way of being for me the tender care -- and more -- that I give to my rarest exotic plants. 

What we are doing means so much to me and others.

At the base of truth is this sense of oneness. It is as much a part of one’s whole nature as are the earth, air, fire and water. Love too is somehow a part of this though at the moment how and where escapes my conscious mind.

Nonetheless, more elemental richness and love in my life is what Coffee House Conversations On Race Relations in Frederick, Maryland is bringing me.  

What a wonderful, unexpected surprise!