When you
live in a country that makes you provide your own basic services – things
that citizens of other countries can take for granted – you have to get good at
guessing. For example, though we’ve been enjoying nearly non-stop electricity
for over a year following the solar power installation on our building, there
are still quirks. When the (currently nonexistent, pun intended) municipal
current exceeds the normal 220 volts, a system overload occurs, and we are left
in the dark. We figured out that we had to wait until the municipal power
“calms down” to something under 240 volts, then switch the main power off and
on to resume our electricity. Problem managed (not solved)! Other power interruptions still
occur, and we’re still trying to guess why…
An artist found beauty in the colors
and shapes of Beirut rooftops and skies
(31 July 2024 - Mar Mikhael)
“Overload” is also a daily issue in
a place and a community with a plethora of needs and concerns but a dearth of
willing and capable hands. Those who are willing and capable can often
(somewhat understandably) be very protective of their time and energy. Others may
be on the job but lack the necessary capabilities. Still others are unwilling
to learn or change. I regularly wonder how overloading is affecting those around me.
Finding a way to get the job done,
and nobody got hurt - I think
(29 Mar. 2024 - Geitawi)
So many people have left this region (the “dearly departed”) for a more balanced or safer or prosperous life, and those who haven’t (yet) left continue to care for the community and experience more system overload. Since I’m now (in a way) part of this latter group, I try not to think about the load-bearing that we are doing, and just continue to plug along. Occasionally we find a little bit of energy left to train and empower others who have the potential to work for the common good, with the hopes that they will continue to stay side-by-side with us and not take an offramp.
I think that “system overload” also properly
describes my thought world of the past year. I have been filled to overflowing
with the barbarity and especially the counter-barbarity in the lands “South of
the Border” to us; the genocidal onslaught on Armenia and Artsakh (to borrow another
butcher’s words, “Who speaks nowadays of the destruction of Artsakh?”) by its neighbors,
assisted by the resources of “the Middle East’s only democracy”, and emboldened
by the inaction of its “friends”; the lack of depth, political sense or
appreciation of heritage of those in power in the “Homeland”; the pervasive indifference
and confusion of the Armenian Diaspora towards the existential threats it is facing; the
diabolical contradiction between the words and actions of purported champions
of human rights; all of this causes a huge “system overload” in my circuitry. Is
this paragraph too long? That’s “system overload” doing its thing.
A sidewalk collage with a message...
whatever happens
(10 July 2024 - Gemmayzeh)
When surge protectors interrupt an
electrical circuit, either the circuit stays off until the “reset” button is
pressed, or they wait a few seconds before automatically restoring the current.
Maybe all of us need surge protectors to keep us from these varieties of overloading,
including the surplus data that is provided to our eyes and brains via our handheld
devices. That excess of information, coupled with the lack of time to reflect on so many
issues of substance, cause us to fall from our true humanity, in almost as
insidious a way as Adam and Eve’s transgression did. And it may explain why in
the past twelve months I’ve only managed to eke out one “Nshanakir”, and why I’ve
been trying since April to write this one. Seems I’m having trouble locating the “reset”
button on my surge protector.
Far from Beirut's din, the peace
and majesty of the cedar forest
(22 July 2024 - Arz el Barouk)
To switch the imagery and to do some self-correcting, something I tell those who say that they are in a pit or a rut is this: “When you find yourself stuck in a hole, the first rule is – Stop Digging.” Others may advise differently, like focusing on something positive, which may be particularly challenging when the “most moral army in the world” sends its warplanes over Beirut to terrify you, as we have been enjoying of late. Oh, right, stop digging.
Yet searching for bright spots may be the best method to finding a way out of these many pits and potholes we encounter. Here are a few.
One bright spot is the occasional kind
taxi driver that Maria encounters in her commute. These are usually “old-timers,”
fellows who are not new to the job, who exude an attitude of politeness and caring,
something in short supply these tense days. Of course, Maria has a distinct
advantage over me in these exchanges, being that she can converse with them in
Arabic. If nothing else, it gives me peace of mind and puts a smile in my heart
when I hear that one of these gents has been her chauffeur that day.
Newly-engaged, a bright spot needing
no electricity! (21 July 2024 - Geitawi)
Another bright spot happened at a sweet shop on a hot afternoon last week, when I inadvisedly bought an ice cream cone. Almost instantly it turned into a colorful series of tributaries streaming down my hand onto the sidewalk. An employee rushed out of the store and put a stack of tissues on our table, then grabbed my cone and plopped what was left of it into a cup, speaking as if to reprimand the ice cream for making such a mess all over me. She shooed me into the store to wash up at the sink behind the counter, then made me tell her what flavors (of Arabic ice cream, of course) I had ordered. She had the ice cream server make up a new order for me in a cup, of course, with the cone sticking out of it at a rakish angle. After enjoying my ice cream I went back inside to thank her. “Walaw, walaw,” she politely dismissed my thanks. Based on her awareness and consideration, I figure she may have even told the guy inside to make sure to use cups whenever serving ice cream during Lebanon’s glorious summer heat.
It’s just like Fred Rogers’ mother told
him as a little boy when he was frightened: “Look for the helpers. You will
always find people who are helping.” Bright spots are there for those who are
looking for them.
LebCat 62 - "Will act cute for food"
(22 July 2024 - Deir al Qamar)
Of course, the brightest spot was indubitably Sevag’s annual month-long visit. It became even brighter when his girlfriend Rhoda arrived from Pennsylvania the last week of his visit and they surprised us by exchanging rings in the middle of a kebab lunch with dear friends. The happiness and brightness quotient soared that day, and there was no system overload anywhere to be found! A few days later we held a formal engagement ceremony in the Armenian tradition, placing the wedding bands on their right hands and invoking God’s blessing on their growing relationship.
Thinking upon such bright spots definitely help us to bridge the “power interruptions” of these days! [LNB]
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