Day 363 – I realized few days ago that when I am talking about having someone in my life, I am talking weekends only. I am way too busy during the week. I have classes I take both art classes – drawing and creative writing and I have the tour guides class, and then I have classes at the gym – belly dancing and Pilates and just regular work-out there with no class. On top of it I am trying to find time to work on my book, to read and I also started knitting a sweater for my little granddaughter. On my wish list I also have getting back to my attempts to learn French, and you got here very busy evenings, especially considering the fact that I also work long hours, yesterday by the time I came home it was almost 7pm. But busy as I am it brings a lot of joy into my life. I just came an hour ago for my Monday tour guides’ class and I enjoyed it immensely. It is our second Islam class and it was so very interesting! I find it amazing that every time I come back from class I feel how little I know, and the more I hear these lectors the more I feel this way; and it is not only I who feel this way but most of the people in our class. We, as humans, have the tendency to talk and express opinion about things all the time and I know I do it. But these classes show me how shallow is most of our knowledge. At the very best we touch the surface and if you’ll ask two more questions it will become apparent that we form our opinions on things we read in the paper or heard on TV and not from actual knowledge. Our instructors keep challenging us with questions and it is almost embarrassing. Today we had our second Islam class; by the end of the lesson we all had a real appreciation to a religion with more than a billion followers; a religion we in the west learned to hate and fear due to extremists who terrorize the world in its name; a religion that was so unknown to us but we could make so many statements against it. By the end of the 5 hours we were sold on it. But most of all we came out of this class with an admiration to an amazing instructor that at the age of 78 is still full of fire and love for this religion, its culture and a desire to pass it on to future generations. I came out of this class with a serious desire to keep learning about it. For years I am studying religions but it never even crossed my mind to learn a little more about Islam. I am going to remedy this now. I already bought one book and I guess I will by more. I want to understand and to increase my knowledge. Only than we might have a real chance of finding common ground, of understanding each other, of maybe one day even peace. But the first step must be to know the religion, the language and the culture. I signed up for a Tour Guides course; little did I know it will change my views of the world around me.
I am so thankful for this opportunity I got to increase my knowledge about so many subjects. I am thankful for all these teasers that wet my appetite and send me on a hunt for more information, more knowledge. I am thankful for this unique opportunity to study under the tutelage of such an amazing teacher as our Islam teacher, a man of amazing resume who influenced generations of students here in so many ways and we are so lucky to have him as our teacher for Islam.
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