As I continued my mind body journey of recovery to mental and physical health these past two years, I was tested by the intensity of October 7th; a bloody attack or rape, murder, and kidnapping on young, Israeli innocent civilians and then the responding horrific war and demolition of Gaza and the deaths of tens of thousands of innocent Palestinian children, mothers, and civilians that ensued.

The effect of the blood bath on October 7th profoundly affected so many Jewish bodies around the world, as we continued to grapple with the intergenerational healing journey we had been on for the last three generations, as the words of terror and fear narratives designed to keep us safe that we raised ourselves with hit heavy.

And then the corresponding violence, vitriol, walls, and death as the army advanced and we grappled with where to place ourselves, who to align with.

Let us not forget the voices, the accusations, the blaming, the generalizations, the hard heartedness of so many additional opinions and actions of neighbors, friends, colleagues, politicians, writers, and influencers around the world.

Plus add in a dash of Trump, who is, just the worst. The violence and oppression of voices, the movement towards silencing, sentencing.

And we have quite the stew for our bodies to sit in. The uncertainty moves thickly through the air.

So that’s what this series is and continues to be. A way of returning again to the body as a source of healing through listening. How do we move forward when the entire world is crying? How do we take steps towards solidarity and peace in the midst of rubble and devastation? How do we knit our communities closer together when we are disappointed, dismissed, and shunned by them?

I certainly don’t have the answers. But I sit with it all. Trying to piece myself and us all back together.