Real strength

Only the weak

wage wars - it takes

real strength to build

bridges and make

peace happen.

Be strong: embrace The Other.

Today, I attended a Creative Mornings meeting in Paris. Creative Mornings is a global movement of creative people gathering on the last Friday of the month to talk around a certain theme. The theme today was chosen by the Teheran chapter: koor-soo, which means so much as "a glimmer of hope".

We were treated to an inspiring talk by Warrior of Peace Hanna Assouline. At one point, one audience member started antagonising her, by aggressively questioning her about a point he declared she had made, but of which it remained unclear when she had made that. I, personally, did not think she did, but that's beside the point. The point is, that this kind of antagonistic behaviour does not contribute to a solution, it only perpetuates the problem. The whole point of Hanna's story was that her women's movement tried to bring people together. To bridge the gaps, to bring people from both sides, in the example at hand the Israelis and the Palestinians, together to find a way towards peace.

And that's what this poem is about. Finding the strength to embrace The Other. To work towards peace. That's real strength. Only the weak wield weapons.

PS: In the header image you can see a section of the Jordan river, which partially forms the border between Israel and the Palestinian territory.

Poésie de la vie

Above, I called Hanna Assouline a Warrior of Peace. Here's a short clip that shows what her organisation, les guerrières de la paix, does.

Play Video

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Real strength