Moments of Clarity

There is a famous song by John Lennon called Imagine. It suppose to be about humanity and peace, but for me it is a horrific confronting reality of people losing their hope. It’s my own fault, for thinking about the words of songs. So much music is lost for me, but so much more discovered…

English isn’t my first language. For a very long time it was a language associated with peace and humanity. After all, BBC used to broadcast the message of freedom for people behind the Iron Curtain. We knew our lives were hard, yet somehow affirmation was important. Fighting for freedom was very dangerous. Surely there was a danger to yourself, but they also used to come after the family and friends. Latter was very hard.

Truth wasn’t high on the agenda. Carefully chosen facts formed the basis for propaganda. A few foreign movies screened in theatres painted very limited picture. Majority of people wanted to have these illusive freedoms. 

Then there was music. With first generation of underground music recording, we listened to different artists, accepted messages and often overestimated novelty and dignity of the character. Putting aside our local musicians, imagine my deep disappointments when I finally understood the words. Words of the song and my values are polar opposite. 

As a Jewish lady, it’s easy to understand that afterlife is much more than just heaven or just sky. However peace isn’t coming from lack of borders or religion. Look into the history of the world. Tyranny is coming from from the places where people forget that each and everyone of us are created in the image of G-d. 

Imagine if this simple yet powerful message was the cornerstone of our lives. Instead of thinking about afterlife and ruining character of the country, we would embrace our differences and learn how they can enrich our lives. If you truly see that message as a target, you will understand why positive impact action is the key – key to have beautiful symphony of different sounds. This is the dream of The Temple, where all 70 nations can worship in peace. 

Small steps towards that dream of peace are compassion and accountability. Sounding like opposing principles, they can work wonderfully together like the symphony orchestra. It’s knowing what note to play and when that makes a difference between chaos and beauty. For that we need a genius composer and a highly skilled conductor. G-d is a composer. In His infinite wisdom He gave us our beloved Torah.

Our leaders are conducting the orchestra. Both political and religious leaders have their role, working together. Often making hard decisions, agenda and ego have to be put aside. Imagine all the people doing their job without taking bribes in forms of sponsorship, grants, donations and influence of personal beliefs with full appreciation of sanctity of each life. 

Maybe, just maybe that would resolve many problems. Even in the current pandemic, we would have gone through hard times with improved healthcare and greater appreciation for science instead of lockdowns. Greed, inability to own our decisions and introduction of segregation. 

Make no mistake. Segregation will not work. There is a light at the end of the tunnel. It’s just we are still not making right choices. And trust me – peace and freedom are not achieved by division.

Maybe don’t trust me, maybe learning history is a much better option.

John Lennon Imagine lyrics https://g.co/kgs/H67v8D