Julie Geller – from Israel!
Dearest Colorado Friends and Musicians! I wanted to share a bit of my recent experience with you. Like yours, it’s been a wild one. Here is Israel, we were under lockdown for about six weeks. That meant that we were only able to basically walk around half of our block, as well as leave the house to buy food and medicine. During that time, I only went to a store once, and that was to buy food for Passover (on-line shopping was hard enough without that extra challenge!).
My husband and I decided early on that we would only spend money on food. So, if we had it in our house, we used it. If not, we didn’t. This is how we came to make the Box Desk, which is a school desk we made for one of our kids out of boxes. (Likewise, our neighbors have a punching bag and gloves in their carport, so that’s how I came to take up boxing!)
During Passover, we were on full lockdown for a couple evenings, meaning that we weren’t allowed to leave our home at all. It was absolutely wild to see drones overhead making sure everyone was in their homes for the holiday. (For those of you who are Christian, celebrating Passover without family is like celebrating Christmas without family).
By week seven or so, we were able to walk 500 meters from our home. The first time I walked all the way around the block I felt like I was walking to the moon!
By then, we had established a system for walking around our half of the block, which we referred to as a “Grand Cirque” — clockwise or counterclockwise, with routes aleph, bet, gimel, and daled (A, B, C, and D), depending how we exited our side of the block!
We memorized every interesting sight on our side of the block (“There’s the car that’s tied to the tree!” “There’s the house they’re remodeling!” “There’s the guy in quarantine at his window!”).
And then things opened up very quickly. About two weeks ago, two of my kids went back to school (with distancing, masks, etc.) Today my third child went back to school. There is less distancing now with all classes open (although many have opted to keep their kids home).
Nobody knows how this will play out, but I can’t say enough good things about how Israel and its citizens have weathered this challenge together so far. To date, Israel — a country of almost 9 million people — has suffered only 277 deaths.
And what about music? I played one of my favorite concerts ever from my living room before Passover. I felt so loved and supported even though we were spread out all over the world. I had a beautiful conversation with Sarah Davison-Tracy of Seeds of Exchange about service.
But mostly I felt called to be and not make. I felt called into God’s love for me even when I don’t produce or impress or succeed. Could I be enough without having to prove it through work or productivity?
Feeding our family, cleaning our home, playing Catan at all hours of the day or night, praying, having leisurely conversations with my extended family, doing yoga in my kitchen, walking the Grand Cirque, not rushing… well, it felt like more than enough.
I felt happy.
I wrote a song two years ago that appeared on the new album, Zeh Hayom, called Somebody (“I want to be somebody”). During quarantine, I thought about writing a follow-up song: Nobody.
What if I relinquished my need to succeed and impress? What if I was unremarkable? What if I lived a modest life geared only toward doing mitzvot (acts of kindness)? What if I accepted God’s love of me as I am without having to prove myself?
For the last two months, I wasn’t focused on me or my career or my success. I was focused on helping others.
What a relief.
Sending you love,
Julie Geller
http://www.JulieGeller.com
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