So I wrote the following about 6 months ago when I got back from AIPAC's Advanced Advocacy Mission to Israel. The trip was about 7-8 days long, and was geared towards college students who had not only travelled to Israel previously but who were also well versed in its history, politics, the Palestinian conflict, etc and were willing to go further in depth and engage with the nation's intricacies. On the trip, my fellow participants and I met with key Israeli and Palestinian leaders, journalists, NGO's, and more. It was a non stop week(ish) starting with our early morning walks and often going late into the night with our post-dinner sessions. I left the trip exhausted and wrote this on the bus ride to Ben Gurion Airport where we would head back to the states. I came across it the other day and thought now would be a pretty good time to share it, given everything that is going on...
'One of my favorite authors has repeatedly said "the truth resists simplicity." While I've always found it extremely profound and accurate regarding daily life, this last week has really made that statement come alive. For the past 7 days I have been in Israel as part of the AIPAC Advanced Advocacy Mission meeting with influential leaders and activists throughout the country. In each and every session I had my beliefs challenged and things that I thought I knew were both confirmed and contradicted, depending on who we were talking to. In each session I found myself doodling on the corner of my notes "the truth resists simplicity, the truth resists simplicity, the truth resists simplicity" over and over and over again. I had to constantly remind myself that everything I was hearing was a truth of some sorts, even if it wasn't my truth. Everything that I learned over the last week expanded my truth to encompass other narratives that either I had never considered or didn't really know. I still have a lot to learn, and I think I will always have a lot to learn and will never find the singular truth. Because the truth resists simplicity, and so I choose to embrace complexity and imagine the world in just that way.'
No comments:
Post a Comment