>The Israeli-Arab conflict is based upon specific ways of thinking about an event in human history. It begins with Hagar and her son, Ishmael, being sent out into the desert by Abraham under the direction of his wife, Sara. By that single act, Arabs believe they were denied something by the Hebrews that would otherwise have been rightfully theirs.
   Similarly, the Jews have their own story. It’s a theme of persecution tat runs strongly throughout the history of the Jewish people as far back as their oppression under the master/slave consciousness of the Egyptians.  Ever since, Jews have been trying to live in peace wherever they reside, only to find what tey see as thousands of years of unending persecution in one form or another.
   If we in fact draw to us, through our thoughts, that which we think about deliberately or by default, then perhaps these two peoples have more in common than they think. 
   And just perhaps, what they are thinking about...and precisely how they are thinking about it, is continually co-creating and re-creating their plight.
   What if Arabs would instead see that their expulsion from Abraham’s home embarked them on a path to unimaginable oil-based wealth given where they finally settled?  What if they used that wealth to continuously uplift and advance their culture?  What if the Jewish people could see that but for their exodus from Egypt, and subsequently imposed limitations by host cultures, they would never have developed priorities focused upon learning and education as a means of advancement. It is that very focus which has caused them to so disproportionately contributed to the scientific, artistic and literary advancement of the world.
   What if these two peoples thought of one another with gratitude for the benefits and opportunities their relationship to one another has provided, instead of looking at one another with fear and animosity?
   You cannot change your history. But you can change how you think about your history and thereby change the story you create around it.
   I prefer to think of the Arab-Israeli relationship as a present opportunity to elevate our consciousness around how we think about their intertwined history and perhaps, by so doing, contribute to assisting them in thinking about it in a new way also.
   I have said it before, but perhaps this is as good a time as any.
   Shalom and Salaam.   
   

Comments are closed.