The Elephant and the Blind Men

Once upon a time, there were six blind men in a village. One day the villagers told them, "Hey, there is an elephant in the village today!" Blind since birth, they had no idea what an elephant was. They decided that even if they couldn't see it with their own eyes, they would go and touch the animal. So all of them went, and all of them touched.

"Hey, the elephant is a pillar!" said the first man, who touched the leg.
"Oh, no! It is like a rope." said the second man, who touched the tail.
"You are wrong! It is like the thick branch of a tree!" said the third man, who touched the trunk.
"It is like a big hand fan!" said the fourth man, who touched the ear.
"You are wrong! It is like a huge wall!" said the fifth man, who touched the side.
"No, no, it is like a solid pipe!" said the sixth man, who touched the tusk of the elephant.

And so, they continued to argue and became quite agitated with each other. Eventually, each one stormed off in another direction, unwilling to speak about it any further. Ultimately, none of the men were able to understand the bigger picture, they all approached the animal from their own perspective and became stuck thinking that their story was the only true one.

I'm not here to arbitrate who is right and who is wrong in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. My role is to listen and learn from the people directly affected. I'll try to see the big picture, and not get stuck on what I believe to be true. There are grievances on every side. As I'm walking alongside these people in this "Holy Land full of holes" I'll do my best to avoid generalizations, remembering there are many perspectives within the dysfunctional family of Abraham. At this moment, we are all blind. So let's continue down this less traveled road of non-violence together, helping one another along the way. The situation may not be easy, but it's not impossible.

Peace - Shalom - Salaam