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I brought these two poems to the Dalal's Salon, March 19, and was asked to make them available here. Enjoy. Petra For a New Beginning by John O'Donohue In out-of-the-way places of the heart, Where your thoughts never think to wander, This beginning has been quietly forming, Waiting until you were ready to emerge. For a long time it has watched your desire, Feeling the emptiness growing inside you, Noticing how you willed yourself on, Still unable to leave what you had outgrown. It watched you play with the seduction of safety And the gray promises that sameness whispered, Heard the waves of turmoil rise and relent, Wondered would you always live like this. Then the delight, when your courage kindled, And out you stepped onto new ground, Your eyes young again with energy and dream, A path of plenitude opening before you. Though your destination is not yet clear You can trust the promise of this opening; Unfurl yourself into the grace of beginning That is at one with your life's desire. Awaken your spirit to adventure; Hold nothing back, learn to find ease in risk; Soon you will be home in a new rhythm, For your soul senses the world that awaits you. Stages By Hermann Hesse from The Glass Bead Game (also known as Magister Ludi) German: „Stufen“ aus “Das Glassperlenspiel” As every flower fades and as all youth Departs, so life at every stage, So every virtue, so our grasp of truth, Blooms in its day and may not last forever. Since life may summon us at every age Be ready, heart, for parting, new endeavor, Be ready bravely and without remorse To find new light that old ties cannot give. In all beginnings dwells a magic force For guarding us and helping us to live. It is essential that we move serenely Through room and space, and cling to none with sentiments of home The Cosmic Spirit seeks not to restrain us But wants to lift us stage by stage to wider spaces Just when we homely feel in one such setting the threat of slacking, apathy arises. And only those who ready are for travel, taking chances can break the habits’ paralyzing stances. The last of our hours even might send us young and fresh To yet another realm, The call of Life to us forever flowers… So be it, heart: Take farewell and be calm. (be healed – in the German Original)

I hope some of you will attend this event on Sunday and consider supporting. Thank you. Continuous Trauma and Social Devastation, or Caring for All? Yasser Abu-Jamei, M.D., Psychiatrist and Director of the Gaza Community Mental Health Programme (GCMHP) In Person AND Online: Online Access at: http://bit.ly/HolyLandZoom Sunday, February 12, 2023 12:00-2PM, in person reception, lecture and fundraiser to support GCMHP Foundation for Gaza Community Mental Health, https://www.gazamentalhealth.org/ In Person at: St John's Norwood Episcopal Church 6701 Wisconsin Ave Chevy Chase MD 20815 (walk South from Red line Metro Bethesda stop) Dr. Abu Jamei will be joined by local panelists discussing social division and racisms globally, in the Gaza Strip, and impact on trauma, as well as anti-racism, equality and respect as core values going forward for all peoples: • Dr Nancy Murray, Gaza Mental Health Foundation, • Fida Adely, Phd, Georgetown University • James Gordon, MD-Center for Mind Body Medicine • Kathryn Chefetz, LCSW-Psychoanalyst • Richard Chefetz, MD-Psychiatrist, Traumatologist This free event is organized by the Massachusetts-based Gaza Mental Health Foundation, the primary sponsor of Dr. Abu-Jamei's national tour, with support from the following regional cosponsors: • Holy Land Committee of the Episcopal Diocese of Washington • Friends of Sabeel North America (FOSNA) • Jewish Voice for Peace – Health Advisory Council • Jewish Voice for Peace: DC/Virginia/MD Chapter • Episcopal Peace Fellowship-Palestine/Israel Network (National Capitol Chapter) • Pax Christi-DC Baltimore Chapter • USA Palestine Mental Health Network Dr. Abu-Jamei has steered the GCMHP through devastating times. For 15 years, an Israel-imposed blockade has cut its two million people off from the wider world and all but destroyed the local economy. During that time the Gaza Strip has endured five major Israeli military attacks that have had a severe impact on the physical and psychological health of children and their caregivers. Save the Children International reports, “four out of five children in Gaza say they are living with depression, grief and fear.” On July 21, 2014, Dr. Abu-Jamei lost 28 members of his extended family – including 19 children – in a single missile strike, and other GCMHP staff members have also suffered terrible losses. As the leading Palestinian non-governmental organization providing mental health services to the Gaza Strip, the GCMHP works at the nexus of mental health and human rights, to alleviate trauma and instill hope. In Dr. Abu Jamei’s words, “It is a joy to us when we see children recovering and able to go back to school. We are doing our best to ensure the children can be our future. We are calling for help from the international community to say these children need a future.”

Hello friends. On December 25, my brother, in California, was diagnosed with Covid. He was 66 years old, in poor health, and mentally ill. They sent him home the next morning. On New Year's Eve, he passed away. (The cause of death was listed as bronchial pneumonia and emphysema.) My sister had been keeping her basement apartment open, hoping that he would come back to Virginia and live with her. However, he did not want to make any changes, although he wanted his life to be different. I had prayed that he would have a life of every beautiful thing, which he had missed most of his life, from his first accident as a young boy, and from his time living on the street. I can only pray that he will have it all one day, as he gets another turn around.