There is no greater sorrow than recalling
happy times when we are sad
Dante
Thinking about Cuba, for me is never sad,
but the powerful forces that draw me to mi Isla rica are all due to the special
friendships I have been surrounded with over the years.
I was still amazed when a Cuban friend
said: You are not a friend, but you are a tattoo in my heart!
And in Baracoa, the little poet said
looking at the stars falling into the net the tranquil sea lays out for them, the
seas are there just to remind us that you are near us, so it is never Good Bye
from us.
Have always valued the philosophy of MINDFULNESS, to live and enjoy the
present moment to the fullest, but this feeling for Cuba is like a wound
that bleeds slowly. When I am in Cuba the rest of the world disappears for me.
I have been very lucky to have good friends around the world, such as you and
many others, but friendship in Cuba has an urgent feeling and one thing they
have abundantly that the westerners do not have TIME. The director of National
Gallery stops on her way to work to say good-bye and have a cup of coffee,
Cuban Ambassador to Malaysia drops in between meetings to say hello. I am not
that important a person in Cuba but I realize that my friends have taught me
the importance of Friendship. Make yourself available to your friends. You have
heard me say: I am never too busy for my friends, and this remains true to
this day.
In Cuba, whether in La Habana or Baracoa I can count on 10 or 20 people
dropping by the house each day to say hello and share strong coffee or
rum. We may have no biscuits or any snacks to share but we shared all that we have
and improvised. What was important was that each of us had made that special
effort to be with each other.
Here are some friends,
young and old, holding high social positions or not, visiting the house,
sharing the humble offerings and drinks. (A bottle of Havana Club White Rum is
only 4 dollars, the same price as a 2 Litre bottle of Coca Cola to make Cuba
Libre, ice when we have conserved electricity and lemon when it is available!)
Coca Cola in Cuba is a treat, much like Champagne in France! All these people
remain my friends and write to me when they can and when they know I am in
town, would be knocking on the door, always something "precious" in
their hands. You also see me with my Cuban mother who is standing in front of
original paintings by very famous artists, Cuban and Foreign. (My financial
problems would be over if she donated just one painting to me, such as a
Guyasamin!)
Why such a gush of emotions? What is this connection?
Just after making this collage this morning, I received a nice video of
young students from a Music/Dance academy in Jerusalem doing an impromptu
concert in the waiting room of the Hadassah Hospital in Jerusalem.
Watching them, I couldn't help crying.
The connection to each and every one of them was there, like elongated
notes that refuse to disappear to the ether. I could recognize in their faces
the hundreds of Jews I have known in all parts of the world, I thought I
saw my mother, my sister, my friends and even thought that it was LB
executing the dance.
I had written a blog on Spirituality and the origins of it for us, the
Jewish people. It is this inexplicable connection, as if the central themes of
our lives are all shared in broken bits of mirror reflecting it as a whole by
all of us.
I no longer felt the pain
of nostalgia for Cuba, I once again became aware of its presence, a mindfulness
as I am everyday aware of the presence of all of you in my life, and also of
the Jewish People and Eretz Israel.
this is the link to the video from Hadassah Hospital
