A Beautiful Tapestry

 I recently visited my homeland, Israel. As a writer, I enjoy sitting in an outdoor café in Jerusalem, as my favorite pastime, as it gives me food for thought. I like to watch people from all over the world connect and just enjoy life. I see what unites us rather than what divides us. When I see people sharing a meal or sharing laughter regardless of age, sex, religion or the color of their skin, I can see how simple it is to coexist if we only move our egos aside and learn to live in the moment. At times, we forget to appreciate each other’s uniqueness and to respect our differences. In a world that is broken and fractured, with plenty of chaos and pain, we need to bring a sense of more understanding, tolerance, acceptance and peace.
In Hebrew, the word “shalom” means completeness, wholesomeness and peace. Showing support, kindness and compassion to each other is essential as we all have our share of struggles and must overcome different obstacles and challenges. John Steinbeck said, “You can only understand people if you feel them in yourself.” Realize that we are all a part of one big giant puzzle where each of the pieces is important and much needed to complete it. We all matter. It’s all about togetherness.
At times, we tend to see life as the backside of a tapestry, just seeing the imperfections in each other, noticing only the ugly knots. But the other side of the tapestry is perfectly beautiful. To the Master of it all, the Almighty, the other side is an outstanding piece of artwork in the making with its colorful threads interwoven together. I’m sure our creator would like to see us all living in harmony side-by-side. Now, if we could only remind ourselves daily to share with one another our goodness and empathy, we could all enjoy life better. So, in the spirit of the holidays, I pray that we start now. I wish us all a wonderful season of peace, light, love, and joy all around the world!
Naomi Young is an educator of Jewish studies and a Bar/ Bat mitzvah tutor in Santa Clarita for 36 years. She’s also a published writer and an artist. Contact her at naomiyoung7@yahoo.com and view her art website www.naomiyoung.com.