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March 18, 2004
Al-Buraq Wall
I searched everywhere on the net for the Arabic word for wall. Apparently there is not an Arabic word for wall. The Al-Buraq Wall or "Wailing Wall" is located in Jerusalem at the Temple Mount. It is a place I long to see for many reasons. I love Middle Eastern culture and history. The more I hear and read about the many violent and remarkably inhuman things going on in Israel, Iraq and other countries I want to wail.
There is a book I recently read called The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd. In it a character builds her own Wailing Wall because she simply cannot process the sorrow she sees in the world. She is so overcome by the tragedies that touch other people, she takes them on as her own. I'm a lot like this. If other people are hurting or being hurt I often take on that energy. I don't know why, if it’s something psychological or something deeper. All I know is that sometimes I feel so overwhelmed by what I see or hear that I need a place to bury my fears and my sadness. I need my own wailing wall where I can write my prayers and squeeze them between tightly constructed stones.
I look at my friends, my family and the various "teachers" that have been in my life and I wonder if we could ever make a difference. I guess the only way is to try. Father Elias Chacour is a Palestinian Christian who has dealt first hand with much of the violence and hatred being cultivated by Israel. I was thinking about him this morning after watching the news, I said a short prayer in the hopes that he can make a difference.
Ok, now that I have my melancholy-ness out of the way....I've been told that I'm nesting.
Yeah.
Whatever.
Just because I like to read magazines like Better Homes & Gardens and Metropolitan Home and yes Martha Stewart Living does not mean I'm nesting. It just means I dream of having a nice home. Is that nesting? I think not. If I was nesting wouldn't I be saying, "Oh, that's such a nice color, it would be perfect for a nursery." Yes? I am not nesting. I am simply exploring home and garden "fashions."
I also found a new restaurant in Ogden that I want to try. The website amuses me simply for the background music they play. The pictures have some pretty adorable fishy illustrations. I like places like that. It makes me smile.
Two-Bit (25th) Street in Ogden is really cool. Ogden was a train town. 25th Street the hub. Union Station is at one end and then going east from the main entrance is 25th Street. This is where all the prostitutes and liquor and gambling took place before the LDS church really started taking over. There are even tunnels running underneath the street that I have been introduced to via a tour from the Weber State University History Department. I am proud of this street. Proud because Ogdenites have really made an effort to start preserving downtown Ogden history. The Farmer's Market will be starting up again soon and I cannot wait to spend my Saturday morning's wandering around, buying HUGE bouquets of fresh flowers from my former high school art teacher, fresh breads, fruits and vegetables, listening to live music and sipping really good fresh brewed coffee. Oh and I cannot forget wearing my very oversized large brim straw hat. I love that thing.
Final note. I'm re-doing my resume. That's always fun
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Posted by Sarah at March 18, 2004 11:47 AM
Comments
mmmm... farmers markets rule!
and nesting? you know, i've been way into my home lately, and i'm with you. i prefer to think of it as just wanting to live somewhere nice. i don't think i'm nesting. just don't tell my mom, or she'll start bugging me about having kids.
Posted by: arifa at March 18, 2004 06:39 PM
and i realized that i forgot to comment on the important stuff... i wish i knew as much about the israel/palestine conflict as you do. from what i do know, i just know that it's a very difficult situation right now and i wish i could do something about it. i used to try to educate myself and help educate others and get conversations going about it, but it was just too depressing how closed minded people are on both sides. sigh.
Posted by: arifa at March 18, 2004 06:41 PM
i kept reading that name over and over... ogden, ogden,... why is that familiar. and then i remembered.
the irs. bah. way to ruin a perfectly good city in utah.
Posted by: jodi at March 21, 2004 01:18 AM