Jaffa's port is relatively active in terms of boats coming in and out. It also has several restaurants, galleries, and a posh indoor market. And interesting graffiti.
Anyway, there was one gallery, in which there were Instagram pictures by residents of Tel Aviv-Jaffa. Those were actually pretty cool.
In the corner, there was a small tree (or a large bush, I'm not sure). A lot of little notes were pinned to the branches, and according to a nearby sign, it was a wishing tree.
I approached the tree and began reading wishes.
"Love"
"True love"
"One who will really love me"
(I am reminded of this quote by Hank Green: "We are all differently broken, semi-functional, rusted-out love machines.")
"Happiness"
"A good year"
"A good life"
"Health"
"Joy"
As I peered between the branches, I was struck by the similarity. People put down their basest wishes, and thats ultimately the same for humans.
I don't know what I would put down. I wish so many things. Narcissistic things and world things. I wish I were better at doing just about everything. But I guess everyone wishes that. So many wishes - which would I write? Maybe that's why others put down their simplest wishes - it's too hard to decide on the complicated ones.
Finally, I came across a blank note, pinned among the written ones. I don't know whether or not it was a mistake, but there was something so true about it. An unused sheet of white paper is a fresh start - a clean slate, if you will. I think that's what we all want, and possibly what we all need.
After looking at the final wall of pictures, I followed my family outside, under the white sky, blank as a fresh sheet of paper.
No comments:
Post a Comment