My fascination with Jews

All right I have read the Bible, at fourteen there was the version of the Bible which was in use and I read it. Luckily, we had to read the books in the  New Testament as part of the preparation for Confirmation class so I only had to cover the Old Testament to consider having read the whole book. I tried marking the verses so that I could develop some interest in it, however the New Testament held the fascination. Maybe it was the poetry of  the words, but I was in love with  the following verse from 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.  It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.  Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.  It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.  Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, 
they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away.  
That was the closest I came to appreciating the Bible and what it represented. Faith, practice and the Bible were 3 separate entities.

The years passed and other preoccupations took place, and then my father died and I started visiting Curacao, not knowing anything of the history or even the geographical location of the place. On my way to Punda  where we visited almost every day, I saw a cemetery with angels, where every thing was a synchronised white. There was no grass and everything was neatly laid out. I was struck by how peaceful it was.
Our cemeteries were associated with scary stories of not passing by them close to six pm in the evening, probably a ruse to get us home early. So seeing a cemetery like that one was an eye opener. It turned out to be a Jewish cemetery.
Eventually, I discovered the Synagogue and started learning about the history of the people who worshipped  there,  their  rules in that men sat on one side and women sat on the other. Luckily for me, there was  no one  to see that  the first time I went, I sat on the male side. After that every time, I went to the Synagogue, I would  sit on the side for the females.  I suppose that some of the concepts started sinking in and I was respectful of the customs.
My poor mother would wait paitently while I sat on the bench, my head buried in my hands, like I did when I was small and my father was in church with me. Here I would swipe my feet in the sand, back and forth, not caring how dusty they became, aware that the salt in the sand was being used with the same purpose that we use salt in our blessings as Charismatics. There was no disrespect in moving the sand back and forth, playing with it as the floor was covered with sand and salt. There was relief.

The sandy floor of the Synagogue. 

Eventually I visited the Museum, as that took some working up to. By 2009,  I took pictures of various bits of information on the compound which I am sharing here:





The above scene depicts Jacob's Ladder....

The many faces of Curacao

I have been visiting Curacao over the last few years and have occupied different hotels during the course of time.  During the years when I did not visit Curacao, work allowed for visits to some of the Caribbean islands hence there was exposure to other hotels.

Courtyard of  a former fort

While wandering through Otrabanda early one morning I decided to take a walk through Hotel Kura Hulanda. At that time I did not know that the Hotel was going to be called "Sandton Kura Hulanda & Spa" and I was just trying  to choose between visiting the Museum which I had visited before or taking a walk through the compound which I had not done before, having planned to many times and just nor getting around to it.   If I enjoyed the walk, I could stop and have something to eat and drink as a way of giving back to what I had enjoyed for free. So here are some photos of my walk that morning as well as a link to some of the other photos of the different areas. http://www.kurahulanda.com/en/photo-galleries.

  I did stop and having a sandwich and bowl of soup at this restaurant, trying to quell the urge to visit the Museum. Maybe another day.


Copyright Jennifer Bailey

A year of Grace 2012-2013

Most persons start their resolutions on Jan 1 using the calendar year as the start of their year. I will use Christmas as the start of my year. Understand that the mental planning probably started in last Sept and is now becoming actualised.  There are several factors which contributed to this decision which may help the early start  of implementing resolutions to work. You do not start projects with knowledge of factors which work against them and do not attempt to address the factors or have several possible solutions. Whether you articulate the factors or the possible solutions that is up to you. Articulating/documenting  the factors takes trust and most persons do not operate from a point of complete trust.

Partial view of the Synagogue in Curacao  This was a point of faith and the continuation of  questions

So back to the factors,~ #1~ Presently I am on vacation with time to think or to try to think. It is rare for me  to think or to acknowledge what I need to think about. After all during the normal course of things, there are persons who are interested in where you are at and where you are going. And many times there are unplanned events which can have  a big impact on your current delivery but which are important for other persons delivery. Focus point: Have time to think. let the things which you cannot or will not bring to the surface come forth and identify how you are going to deal with them. Give yourself space and time to think.  The location may be important also! The location determines whether you are dealing with pie in the sky or mission impossible.

There are many factors working to accomplish goals each time a ship passes .

#2~ I am starting another project in Jan which may take up to two years to complete. This has a high level of uncertainty of success  and I cannot shift the timeline for start or finish or the deliverables during each period or phase of the project. Why is this project important? It is for self improvement,  will utilise different skills and develop other skills as well as provide knowledge. Am I excited? Possibly, because it is like freedom. It is also impacting on other areas of my life..... What is the chance of success.... I can fail the exams and have to resit, so the overall goal may not be accomplished in the time set out, however all I have to do is try.... I know from past experience that there are other things which I will learn as I progress, which I will have to deal with.  Focus point: Have something that you will develop you as you go along. Make this a priority, because you are important:

The other side of the fence

#3 Carnival is around the corner. Literally Carnival falls in the week of Feb 13, 2013 which is early in the year this time around, so there will be a two day break from work. This break means re arranging of  meetings which are set for the month, other deliverables  will need to be rescheduled. Yes there will be the usual rush to get things done and given certain situations which we are all aware of, from now there will be the emotional gamut which we will all experience and be exposed to. :) Focus point: Schedule breaks for yourself. Know what provides a break/ recharge for you  and how to make use of the breaks which are there. 
As I progress, I will add other factors, however these are the ones which I think are important at this time.
PS: The title A year of Grace was supposed to cover all the factors which you put in so that you can experience a year of Grace. My factors tend to be from the point of where I am and where I need to be. I know what I want to keep and where I need to be at the end of the day......

Copyright Jennifer Bailey