We are all hurting; we are all anxious.
Families fervently wish that the dreaded knock on the door will not be at their home; other families’ only wish is to receive a message that their loved ones are safe and are on their way back from horrific captivity; evacuee families’ dearest wish is to return home; other families are faced with zero income; families of the injured are praying for their loved ones’ complete recovery, and yet other families have received an unwanted new title – a Bereaved Family.
Almost each and every one of us belongs to one or more of these categories. And if not, then our pain for these families, our private pain, difficulties, pressure, anger, anxiety, has crept into all of us.
At the same time, the fact that you feel the fighting spirit on the war front and in the home front, all the help, volunteering and mutual support of our wonderful nation, strengthens us and offers hope.
Despite the painful news every day, each hour, we have to hold our heads high – we have no choice. This is the power that will promote healing – inner strength alongside action.
Each and every one of us should try to look inside and find our inner light, our personal ‘probiotic medicine’ to strengthen our soul. Because every individual is a small light, we are all a strong, steady light, and light always chases away the darkness.
Here is an exercise using the narrative approach that our director of supported employment in Israel’s Central and Lowland regions, Sara Kayla Meir, facilitated with her rehab staff recently (a huge thank you, Sara 🙏):
Take pen and paper, preferably also crayons, and draw a tree. On each element in the tree, write:
🌴 Roots – where did I come from, what are my origins, what is my story?
🌵 Earth – where I am today, what my life looks like?
🌳 Trunk – what are my abilities, talents, skills and strengths?
🌿 Branches – what are my dreams, ambitions, hopes?
🍃 Leaves – significant figures in my life (including those no longer with us).
🍏 Fruits – what gifts have I received in my life, spiritual or physical?
🦋 Birds and butterflies – what do I give back to the world, what light do I spread?
We promise you that you will come out strengthened, especially bearing in mind Rabbi Kook’s wonderful words that are more relevant now than ever:
“It is necessary for every person to know and understand that a candle burns within him and his own candle is not his friend’s candle, and there is no one who does not have a candle.
And it is necessary for every person to know and understand that he must labor and publicly reveal the light of his candle until it becomes a great torch and illuminates the entire world.”
