Our story will have a good ending.

I met Sarit through an article they did about us—three mothers who lost their sons in this war.

I choose to break down this sentence word by word and reflect on each individually:

Story – Since October 7th, I’ve been developing my storytelling skills. My son Yotam, who was kidnapped from Kibbutz Kfar Aza, managed to escape captivity but was killed by friendly fire after five days during which he and his fellow captives were in Gaza, trying to find a way back to us.

I choose to tell this story as one of bravery and heroism. I tell the story of his captivity as one of spiritual elevation, friendship, and the discovery of inner strength. I define the moment of his shooting as Yotam’s liberation.

The choice of words and the way I tell the story shape the consciousness and the way I and my family continue to live. Are we victims of our reality, or are we the heroes of it? It depends on the story we tell ourselves.

Ours – The story here is ours, not just as a family but also as a society and a nation. We are all fighting for our existence, all doing our best to continue living in our beloved homeland.

Will – As an NLP student, I’ve learned to focus on the present rather than the future. So when people ask me, “What will be? Will there be good here?” I say, “There is good now.” The good is here, and in order to see it, you need to believe in seeing the good—this is the necklace that has been around my neck since a few days after October 7th. The good exists, sometimes hidden within the bad, and we have the ability to see it through active choices. Action is required.

End – The end is a subjective term; there are small endings every moment. What is the end, really? Will the end come when the war is over? When the hostages return? Will that be when things are good? In my view, no. Each person defines for themselves what the end is. Even death, to me, is not the end—it is the beginning of something else.

Good – I am, by nature, a very optimistic person, and in any situation, I can see something good. I was able to see the good already on October 8th when I saw all the kindness revealed in Israeli society and among the people of Israel—the good deeds, the mutual help, the friendship, the courage, the love. The good is here. We just need to open our eyes.

Iris Haim