Ehjé ašer ehjé
The human mind spins at an extreme speed when the Sword of Damocles hangs above it. One does not know when it will fall, where it will strike, cut, or split. But one does not necessarily have to run away, as Damocles did. One can also remain still and observe what will happen. Perhaps it is not even dangerous—it only evokes fear so that it can strike. For this year’s original TALENT creation, the Sword of Damocles is saturated with defiance.
How many meanings are hidden within the word defiance. Sorrow, fear, suffering, hope—the whole history of humanity and the individual fate of a person. Because defiance is the reverse side of stereotype. And whether we like it or not, we all live within stereotypes, categorization, judgment, condemnation, fear, loneliness, and pain. And defiance is the desire to break out of these closed, airtight walls. To say no—I have the right, I don’t want this. I am not an error in the system that needs to be fixed. I am not what others label me as, or what they want me to be. I am not a product of stereotype. I am as I am.
How easily and mercilessly we can hurt others in the belief of our own truth. How heavy a judgment a person feels over themselves when they become, in the eyes of others, a mistake. And how much willpower, courage, and bravery it takes to keep going anyway—to not give in, and to live.
In the Old Testament book of Exodus, when Moses asks God in the burning bush for His name, God replies: “I am who I am” (Ehyeh asher ehyeh). Simply: I am. And every human being carries the name “I am.” “I am” is free of labels, categories, and judgment. “I am” cannot be defined or judged, because it simply is. How much less suffering there would be in the world if we looked at each person in a pure, simple way—with a hint of curiosity and interest—without projecting who they should be or what we expect from them. To see who stands in front of us, with their whole inner world, their universe, their content. I am. You are. And between us is a relationship—dynamic, full of attention and the desire to understand who stands before me. Something only you can offer me, and I to you. There would be no stereotypes, no condemnation, no defining—and therefore no suffering or wars. Because power would have nothing to grip onto, nothing to seize and drag by the hair. Ehyeh asher ehyeh.
Erika Merjavá
