32 of us piled into the bus. We had met not but a little over 24 hours prior, yet it was as though our hearts and souls had been connnected for all time. The bond was inexplicable. I just merely gazed upon the sweet face of my Ameh and tears were all I could shed to express the feelings of my heart. She held me in her arms and we wept - not a sad, mournful weeping, but 'ashghayeh eshgh' as my grandfather put it, tears of love.
Our bus ride to this place of pilgrimage was the most inspiring my life had experienced. Brushed up against each other on a hot, sticky day, we payed no mind that the whole of our group could not fit in that 27 passenger bus. We were determined to make it work. Had we not all travelled for hours on end, using all monetary belongings we had to make this journey? A moments seperation was out of the question.
For 4 hours we sat - conversations taking place from seat to seat - the murmer of stories and the sharing of experiences over the last 20 some years filled the car with gentle excitement, only to be broken by one voice raising up in song until others slowly ceased conversation to join in the melodies.
Songs, prayers - joyous and mournful - filled the interior of that car, leaving the driver wondering what bond could be this strong to unite all these people together.
Stories of the history of the place of our destination occupied time and emotion. Tears, laughter, and pure, genuine, and sweet love filled the air.
To be anything but moved denies the existence of God in that moment.
It was this journey that solidified our group.
Connected my family.
Engraved a place for them all in my heart.
1 comment:
It's nearly midnight; Ashkan is at work, Kian is asleep. I intended to get online briefly to confirm a meeting with friends later in the week, saw your name in my contacts list, and thought about how much I miss your family. Wanting to reconnect, I clicked on your blog address to read again the bit you'd written about meeting your family in Turkey, the one you emailed, and I came upon this entry. It's beautiful . . . Oh, I truly wish we could have been on the trip -- it must have been almost surreal. How amazing that Kian was born in the middle of it, and that all of you were together to hear about his birth. That my child could be fortunate enough to be a part of a family like yours is more than I could hope for.
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