REFLECTING HAPPINESS PROJECT
During the lockdowns and quarantines in Israel and around the world people are suffering from loneliness. Too many suicides due to the political and personal situation, there is no financial relief for those who lost their jobs. People are depressed, anxious and unnerved. The old systems are breaking down, more and more into the unknown. The world of art and performance has been completely shut down. Live shows and performances not allowed, no theater and no music concerts.
Throughout this time, I created an additional space. I felt that we need to create new spaces where we can be together. How do we spend time together now? I decided to open my home for a week, as part of a project that I called “Reflecting Happiness”, which is the opposite of sitting Shiva. Shiva is 7 day period of morning in Judaism following the burial of relatives. Shiva embraces a time when individuals discuss their loss and accept the comfort of others. The Shiva allows time of being together, a space to celebrate one's life and to be in various states of emotion, from deep sorrow and sadness to laughter and reliving old memories.
“Reflecting Happiness" is a space to celebrate life and our togetherness, a place to just be, to see each other with our eyes, to truly see each other, to meet, to listen, to share. My home was open for visitors for a week, I invited people to ask me for whatever they need from me. People who arrived could also choose out of a given a menu of options of being / activities / actions alongside coffee, tea and my homemade sweets. We danced, we practiced rituals and prayers of giving thanks, we held ceremonies for asking for a new apartment, we discussed art, politics and where we find ourselves within it all. We ate together and talked about the pain within our heart, about Judaism and spiritual journeys. We shared insights on how to cope with everyday life.
I am thankful to every person who participated and joined me in the project.