this week i should be in Israel but i'm not. at first, when i had to make the decision to postpone the trip all sorts of negative emotions were fighting themselves out inside but i couldn't let any of them out because the reason i'm staying is an important one and the fact that i have to stay for that reason is on a level of emotions i don't even want to deal with and so it was easier to be angry right away. anyways. the interesting thing about changing a date for a trip that i had planned back in February is how many positive things were allowed to happen because of it. For one, i was able to spend half a day more in the company of my friends Brett and Namika whom i visited in Ohio over the weekend. Had i left for Israel on the 14th, i would have had to drive back from Ohio the same day i got there, and at the end of that first night, i was so tired (from 7 hours driving in the morning to a full day with Brett's family) that i was very glad not to have to make another long drive that night. Secondly, on the 11th i got a call from a charter school asking me to come in for an interview on the 17th, which if i was leaving for Israel on the 14th would have been impossible. And having gone to the interview, i can say, that i am glad i had the opportunity because i'm really interested in the position there and hope to get another chance to speak with the school leader. By staying an extra week, i am also able to be of more help to my sister Anna and her fiance. I have been to their place almost every day either painting, cleaning or making things for the reception. An extra week allowed me more time to work on the speeches for one of the wedding ceremonies I'm officiating this summer, and has allowed me to save money instead of spending it. And of course, the extra week has allowed me to fulfill the reason i stayed for that extra week and am now flying to Israel on the 22nd.
funny how that works.
also wanted to share a poem by Rumi that i thought was particularly poignant and deeply meaningful.
This is an excerpt from a larger poem called, A Great Wagon.

Today, like every other day, we wake up empty
and frightened. Don't open the door to the study
and begin reading. Take down a musical instrument.

Let the beauty we love be what we do.
There are hundreds of ways to kneels and kiss the ground.