Befriended Stranger

I miss the excitement of the International Day of Children as it was widely celebrated back in Bulgaria.  Here the majority of people are not even aware of it. Symbolically, even the email card my brother sent me, congratulating my little ones with the 1st of June holiday, was caught in my spam inbox. The irony is that in this country children are put on a special pedestal yet so often they do not know true childhood, oppressed as they are by their parents and society by the demand of the consumerist society. Paradoxically, of course, we are all children, adults included. We just often miss the right perspective. Here is a reminder:

O true companions! All humankind are as children in a school, and the Dawning-Points of Light, the Sources of divine revelation, are the teachers, wondrous and without peer. In the school of realities they educate these sons and daughters, according to teachings from God, and foster them in the bosom of grace, so that they may develop along every line, show forth the excellent gifts and blessings of the Lord, and combine human perfections; that they may advance in all aspects of human endeavour, whether outward or inward, hidden or visible, material or spiritual, until they make of this mortal world a widespread mirror, to reflect that other world which dieth not.

(Abdu’l-Baha, Selections from the Writings of Abdu’l-Baha, p. 127)

A dear friend sent me this presentation, and it made me reflect and share:

On the day of Naw Ruz, I was putting two dishes aside after having washed them, and I dropped them. One got broken, one was left intact. I thought to myself, how appropriate a metaphor — of keeping what is worth and throwing away what is not.

Then on the 9th day of Ridvan, I had brought two vases for the roses I used to decorate and then give away to the friends. The wind was strong and while I was away it knocked the vases — one broke, the other survived. Another reminder that some things survive and some don’t, but we move on.

Time to unclutter and cleanse:

59. O SON OF BEING!
Thy heart is My home; sanctify it for My descent. Thy spirit is My place of revelation; cleanse it for My manifestation.
(Baha’u'llah, The Arabic Hidden Words)

On one hand the fact that Earth Day exists is a testimony that there is a problem with the way we treat Mother Earth. One the other hand a single day is not enough — no more that having a Father’s Day is enough to appreciate fatherhood. But we need to start somewhere.

My steps today are simple:

• I biked to work
• I planted a garden on my balcony
• I am teaching my daughters to appreciate nature

When you make such first steps, as small as they are, it is good to know what the vision is. Here it goes:

The earth is but one county, and mankind its citizens.
Bahá’u'lláh

For every part of the universe is connected with every other part by ties that are very powerful and admit of no imbalance, nor any slackening whatever…
Abdu’l Bahá

I was very touched by Nick Vujicic’s inspiration to persevere, reminding us to “heed not your weaknesses and frailty“:

Wert thou to consider this world, and realize how fleeting are the things that pertain unto it, thou wouldst choose to tread no path except the path of service to the Cause of thy Lord. None would have the power to deter thee from celebrating His praise, though all men should arise to oppose thee.

Go thou straight on and persevere in His service. Say: O people! The Day, promised unto you in all the Scriptures, is now come. Fear ye God, and withhold not yourselves from recognizing the One Who is the Object of your creation. Hasten ye unto Him. Better is this for you than the world and all that is therein. Would that ye could perceive it!
(Baha’u'llah, Gleanings from the Writings of Baha’u'llah, p. 313)

The most vital duty, in this day, is to purify your characters, to correct your manners, and improve your conduct. The beloved of the Merciful must show forth such character and conduct among His creatures, that the fragrance of their holiness may be shed upon the whole world, and may quicken the dead, inasmuch as the purpose of the Manifestation of God and the dawning of the limitless lights of the Invisible is to educate the souls of men, and refine the character of every living man — so that blessed individuals, who have freed themselves from the murk of the animal world, shall rise up with those qualities which are the adornings of the reality of man. The purpose is that earthlings should turn into the people of Heaven, and those who walk in darkness should come into the light, and those who are excluded should join the inner circle of the Kingdom, and those who are as nothing should become intimates of the everlasting Glory. It is that the portionless should gain their share of the boundless sea, and the ignorant drink their fill from the living fount of knowledge; that those who thirst for blood should forsake their savagery, and those who are barbed of claw should turn gentle and forbearing, and those who love war should seek instead for true conciliation; it is that the brutal, their talons razor-sharp, should enjoy the benefits of lasting peace; that the foul should learn that there is a realm of purity, and the tainted find their way to the rivers of holiness.

‘Abdu’l-Baha, Selections From the Writings of ‘Abdu’l-Baha  Pp. 11-12.

Sometimes you get stuck and try as you might, nothing comes out of it — it might be the wrong time for a solution or just the wrong approach to a solution. Stepping back and seeing things in perspective helps but sometimes all you can do is persevere… and ask for help — from friends, strangers, and God.

These days the world seems stuck. And badly needs unstucking…

In Iran, the 7 Baha’i leaders are stuck in a jail, falsely accused of crimes they never committed and we all fear for their lives. Please pray for them!

I will not even comment on the insanity of the battle in which I am stuck in my attempts to be a father…

All of this while Washington, DC, is stuck under record amounts of snow.

This morning on my way to pick my baby sitter, my car got stuck on her street as I was driving back towards the cleared road. It took me an hour and a half trying so many different ways to get unstuck. I pushed, I pulled, I tried forward, I tried backward. A nice lady let me borrow her shovel on three occasions, each attempt getting me closer to the goal but never actually enabling me to be free. What a metaphor for my life these past years! The harder I was trying, the deeper I was getting into the snow. At some point I asked for help from some Pakistani men. They came and tried to help to no avail. Then I decided to walk to the store to buy some sand (the idea of buying sand sounds insane to me but on a snowy day you do not have much choice). They did not carry sand but they had cat litter crystals so I tried that — again, to no avail. Finally I asked a group of young men from Nicaragua to help me and after a good wait during which they uncovered somebody else’s car, they came to my rescue and off I went…

So, I’ve been thinking to myself about the connection between stuckness and unstuckness, freedom and detachment.

Like water on a lotus leaf, like a mustard seed on the point of a pin, he who is not stuck to the senses – that is what I
call a brahmin.
(Dhammapada – Sayings of the Buddha)

The Virtues cards I peruse each day give good insights and suggestions. The one on peacefulness suggests giving up the love of power for the power of love. A beautiful friend send me today this quote to reflect on as I was sharing about my difficulties:

The more difficulties one sees in the world the more perfect one becomes. The more you plough and dig the ground the more fertile it becomes. The more you cut the branches of a tree the higher and stronger it grows. The more you put the gold in the fire, the purer it becomes. The more you sharpen the steel by grinding …the better it cuts. Therefore, the more sorrows one sees the more perfect one becomes. That is why, in all times, the Prophets of God have had tribulations and difficulties to withstand. The more often the captain of a ship is in the tempest and difficult sailing the more greater his knowledge becomes. Therefore I am happy that you have had great tribulations and difficulties . . .

‘Abdu’l-Bahá

So, all these tests and tribulations are a good sign that God indeed loves me! Much to be grateful for! So, I decided to be grateful and I baked two banana breads this afternoon to take to the people who helped me in my attempts to unstuck my car from the snow. The Pakistani men were not at home but two shy yet kind ladies opened the door and while giving them the freshly baked banana bread, I told them of my gratitude for the help I received from strangers. The American lady who gave me a shovel was very kind as well and I gave her also a Baha’i prayer for peace — we both agreed that the world needs more helping strangers, shovels, banana bread and prayers

So, for every one who is stuck in this world, let’s give them a spiritual push. And a prayer:

Thou knowest full well, O my God, that tribulations have showered upon me from all directions and that no one can dispel or transmute them except Thee.  I know of a certainty, by virtue of my love for Thee, that Thou wilt never cause tribulations to befall any soul unless Thou desirest to exalt his station in Thy celestial Paradise and to buttress his heart in this earthly life with the bulwark of Thine all-compelling power, that it may not become inclined toward the vanities of this world.  Indeed Thou art well aware that under all conditions I would cherish the remembrance of Thee far more than the ownership of all that is in the heavens and on the earth.

Strengthen my heart, O my God, in Thine obedience and in Thy love, and grant that I may be clear of the entire company of Thine adversaries.  Verily, I swear by Thy glory that I yearn for naught besides Thyself, nor do I desire anything except Thy mercy, nor am I apprehensive of aught save Thy justice.  I beg Thee to forgive me as well as those whom Thou lovest, howsoever Thou pleasest.  Verily, Thou art the Almighty, the Bountiful.

Immensely exalted art Thou, O Lord of the heavens and earth, above the praise of all men, and may peace be upon Thy faithful servants and glory be unto God, the Lord of all the worlds.

The Báb

Another of the most inspiring quotes I have come across over the years:

Make no search for water. But find thirst,
And water from the very ground will burst.
(Rumi, a Persian mystic poet, quoted in Delight of Hearts, p. 77)

From one of the books that was most influential in my life before I was introduced to the Baha’i Faith:

As a man’s real power grows and his knowledge widens, ever the way he can follow grows narrower:  until at last he chooses nothing, but does only and wholly what he must do.
From “A Wizard of Earthsea” by Ursula Le Guin