Befriended Stranger

We are interconnected, like rippling waves. From time to time we get glimpses of this interconnectedness but more often than not they are so subtle that we do not even notice them. Which makes the times when it is impossible to miss those glimpses, even more precious…

Yesterday I got a pleasant surprise when the apartment building’s manager — a very sweet young woman from Yemen who grew up in Germany — sent me an email that she would like to come to the Prayer Station. I was so overjoyed! In case you wonder why, and to put things in perspective, she’s been on my weekly invitation list since… June 2008. And even though on many occasions she had asked me to pray for her, it was the first time that she decided to join me…

When she arrived, she asked me if I knew why she came this time after all these invitations — I had no idea but she explained…

The previous week, she had contacted me to remind me that I need to clear up my apartment for carpet replacement. I had totally missed the message during my recent trip to Bulgaria so I had to take last Monday’s afternoon off from work to be able to move all the stuff to the balcony, kitchen and restroom — the only places not covered with carpeting. Then on Tuesday morning she called me to tell me that a mistake had been made and that in fact my carpet is not old enough and it will not be replaced. My reply was… “Oh, OK, no problem”. She felt badly about the mistake and offered to have the carpet cleaned to which I gratefully agreed.

So, yesterday she explained to me that she  was so surprised that I did not get mad at her as she was anticipating, that she decided to come to the prayer meeting to find out what makes me who I am. I hope this is not a post to brag about how calm I can be, so in full honesty I don’t know if I would have gotten mad on another more regular day but that day in particular I was most certainly very impacted by the passing of Joe Pagano which, putting everything else in perspective, had reminded me how fragile and precious life is,  and by the beginning of the Fast.

One way or another, she came to join the prayer meeting and a group of  five other souls — four Baha’is and a young woman of Catholic background — and we all had great time reading and praying for the equality of women and men.

I am so grateful for this confirmation, this glimpse into the power of the positive impact we all can have on each other, for the reminder that we all are indeed rippling waves of one sea, passing energy into the universe and onto each other…

O Lord! Cause our souls to depend upon the signs of Thy Oneness, our hearts to be dilated with the bounties of Thy Singleness, so that we may become united as are ripples on a waving sea; become harmonized as are the rays which shine forth from a brilliant light; so that our thoughts, opinions and feelings become as one reality from which the spirit of accord may be diffused throughout all regions.

Verily Thou art the Beneficent, the Bestower! Verily Thou art the Giver, the Mighty, the Loving, the Merciful!

(Abdu’l-Baha, Tablets of Abdu’l-Baha v1, p. 3)

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

O SON OF MY HANDMAID!
Quaff from the tongue of the merciful the stream of divine mystery, and behold from the dayspring of divine utterance the unveiled splendor of the daystar of wisdom.  Sow the seeds of My divine wisdom in the pure soil of the heart, and water them with the waters of certitude, that the hyacinths of knowledge and wisdom may spring up fresh and green in the holy city of the heart.
—Bahá’u’lláh, The Hidden Words

The first time I willingly went to a church service — albeit to be with a beautiful friend who had suggested the idea — was the first time I realized that I was yearning for certitude. It was the Easter service at a Greek Orthodox church in Odessa, Ukraine, during my last year of studies in that most unique Soviet city… As the priest announced “Christ has risen” I looked at the nearby ladies beautifully solemn with their heads covered with lace shawls. What I saw on their faces was something I had never seen, something I had never had, something I had never experienced, something I had no idea I needed, something I desperately wanted to have — certitude! For their faces were beaming with such joy for Christ’s resurrection that only certitude — a faith with not a hint of doubt — could have given. They believed it beyond the words and you could see it in their eyes! And I wanted it! I wanted the ability to believe and trust in something I could not physically see in just that same way…

The next morning, as I was walking along the blossoming trees on my way to my friend’s dormitory, a song came to my mind, ready with its lyrics and melody, a song of a “young sapling in the orchard of humanity”. A few months later, I was sharing about this song with a wonderful person from Canada who was telling me about the Baha’i Faith and who commented on how this metaphor of the sapling reminded her of the Baha’i Writings:

Ye are the saplings which the hand of Loving-kindness hath planted in the soil of mercy, and which the showers of bounty have made to flourish.
(Baha’u'llah, Epistle to the Son of the Wolf, p. 25)

O Peerless Lord! Be Thou a shelter for this poor child and a kind and forgiving Master unto this erring and unhappy soul. O Lord! Though we are but worthless plants, yet we belong to Thy garden of roses. Though saplings without leaves and blossoms, yet we are a part of Thine orchard. Nurture this plant then through the outpourings of the clouds of Thy tender mercy and quicken and refresh this sapling through the reviving breath of Thy spiritual springtime. Suffer him to become heedful, discerning and noble, and grant that he may attain eternal life and abide in Thy Kingdom for evermore.
- ‘Abdu’l-Bahá

My silent prayer 19 years ago had been answered through my introduction to the Baha’i Faith…

But as Adib Taherzadeh explains in his talks on “Drawing Nigh to Baha’u'llah“, the gift of faith is something that should be nurtured, protected, cared for. Because there will be time when it will get tested…

During the last week I went through such a sequence of tests and difficulties — physical, emotional, spiritual — that I felt that my own faith was being tested. Now, trials and tribulations have been nothing new to me in the past two years but I have learned to pray for deliverance (and admittedly a lot of the times for a certain outcome) that I know, one way or another things eventually get better.

On Tuesday morning, as I was preparing for my morning prayers, I had this sudden awareness that all of these tests have been with the sole purpose of cultivating my faith and transforming it into certitude. And because I clearly did not have certitude, I had to pray for it.

The result has been nothing short of remarkable. Within hours I was able to withstand with serenity a tumultuous turn of events that spoke loud and clear that this is all part of God’s plan for me, even though I have no idea what its outcome will be. Then after work, at a prayer meeting, I met two wonderful people whose sincere interest in the Baha’i Faith gave me a new inspiration for the direction of the Prayer Station and my own service to the Faith! Praying for certitude indeed works!

O Lord my God!  O Thou Helper of the feeble, Succorer of the poor and Deliverer of the helpless who turn unto Thee.

With utmost lowliness I raise my suppliant hands to Thy kingdom of beauty and fervently call upon Thee with my inner tongue, saying:  O God, my God!  Aid me to adore Thee, strengthen my loins to serve Thee; assist me by Thy grace in my servitude to Thee; suffer me to remain steadfast in my obedience to Thee; pour forth upon me the liberal effusions of Thy bounty, let the glances of the eye of Thy loving-kindness be directed towards me, and immerse me in the ocean of Thy forgiveness.  Grant that I may be confirmed in my allegiance to Thy Faith, and bestow upon me a fuller measure of certitude and assurance, that I may wholly dispense with the world, may turn my face with entire devotion towards Thy face, be reinforced by the compelling power of proofs and testimonies, and, invested with majesty and power, may pass beyond every region of heaven and earth.  Verily Thou art the Merciful, the All-Glorious, the Kind, the Compassionate.

‘Abdu’l-Bahá

He, verily, rewardeth beyond measure them that endure with patience.
(Baha’u'llah, Gems of Divine Mysteries, p. 72)

Last week was the longest uninterrupted period of quality time I got to spent with my precious girls in a year. We went on vacation at the Baha’i Social and Economic Development conference in Orlando, FL. There were many touching, joyful moments and many frustrating ones. I had an opportunity to reflect on many things, one of which was the need for patience in parenting.

As I was walking with Sofia and Juliet towards a nearby movie theater to see “Princess and the Frog”, we had to cross a construction site which had fenced a walkway to guide the pedestrians safely to their destination. The girls joyfully hopped and walked and sang and stopped as we were moving slowly ahead, instantly absorbed by every little thing that grabbed their attention, while I was trying to usher them patiently so we get to the movie theater on time.

At that moment I imagined us all on our path from the perspective of God, Who gives us a direction, shows us the way — sometimes fenced, other times open — gently nudges us to move along, reminding us what the ultimate destination is while never becoming impatient as we absentmindedly get focused on things of lesser importance. Why that is, I thought? Because He loves us, and He knows that all these little distractions are part of our lives. Difficult as these distractions make finding the balance of life, without them we would be sterile masters of the pursuit of check-box lists of achievements. Each little blade of grass Sofia picked or each little pebble Juliet gathered from the path we were on, were for them as important as the ambition of getting on time to see the latest Disney movie. As I observed them immersed in the moment, I was gratefully rejoicing in the gift God had given me — the gift of patience. Or rather, the gift of an opportunity to be patient!

For as God was addressing Evan Baxter in the movie “Evan Almighty”:

Let me ask you something. If someone prays for patience, you think God gives them patience? Or does he give them the opportunity to be patient? If he prayed for courage, does God give him courage, or does he give him opportunities to be courageous? If someone prayed for the family to be closer, do you think God zaps them with warm fuzzy feelings, or does he give them opportunities to love each other?

So, I have been given an immense opportunity to be patient in my sincere attempts to be the best father I can be. And God is a masterful, patient teacher! His Messenger too, gives us marvelous guidance. As a newly discovered friend pointed: “Here is one opportunity to be patient: read the Tablet known as Suriy-i Sabr (Surih of Patience), or Lawh-i Ayyub (the Tablet of Job) by Baha’u'llah“!

Having spent a wonderful Thanksgiving evening with a fascinating group of friends, with full tummy, after a call from my beloved daughters, and anticipating the wonderful community event I will have the honor of hosting tomorrow, I am thankful!  Thankful for family, friends and the glorious Baha’i Faith which has given me tools for spiritual growth. I just received a notification for a post on the Baha’i Communities website which is worth sharing as it gives such a wonderful summary on the Essential Requisites for Spiritual Growth:

Bahá’u'lláh has stated quite clearly in His Writings the essential requisites for our spiritual growth, and these are stressed again and again by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá in His Talks and Tablets. One can summarize them briefly in this way:

1. The recital each day of one of the Obligatory Prayers with pure-hearted devotion.

2. The regular reading of the Sacred Scriptures, specifically at least each morning and evening, with reverence, attention and thought.

3. Prayerful meditation on the teachings, so that we may understand them more deeply, fulfil them more faithfully, and convey them more accurately to others.

4. Striving every day to bring our behavior more into accordance with the high standards that are set forth in the teachings.

5. Teaching the Cause of God.

6. Selfless service in the work of the Cause and in the carrying on of our trade or profession.”

(From a letter written on behalf of the Universal House of Justice to a National Spiritual Assembly. September 1, 1983; listed in Lights of Guidance, Fourth Revised Edition, Section XLV, Reverence and Spirituality, p. 541, #1835)

Happy growing!

I should have listened to the virtue card! You see, I have this set of Virtues Reflections Cards which I bought two years ago in Green Acre, the wonderful Baha’i school, and have been using it by randomly choosing a virtue to practice each day. Now, choosing a card and practicing a virtue are different things. Having the mindfulness to remember what the intended virtue of the day was and applying it to situations as they arise, is another thing. Today’s card was on… humility. And today, in a pretentious attempt to be funny, I made a lame joke, demonstrating anything but humility… I did apologize but sometimes even the apology seems so lame… And for this walking imperfection, it is still so difficult to find the balance between humility and humiliation… At least there was a lesson in this experience, but it is still saddening to offend a friend:

Beware lest ye harm any soul, or make any heart to sorrow; lest ye wound any man with your words, be he known to you or a stranger, be he friend or foe.
(Abdu’l-Baha, Selections from the Writings of Abdu’l-Baha, p. 73)

On the other hand I did host the second session of my Ruhi 3 study circle, and it was truly wonderful and nurturing.  The participants hail from four continents and their experience with children ranges from none through parenting of young children to parenting of grown-up children. It is so inspiring to observe how we all are able to reflect on a quote from such different, yet complimentary, angles. And each one of us is indeed trying to learn to polish gems of inestimable value, so the homework for next Thursday is:

1. Think of the favorite teacher from your childhood and reflect on what made that person so special
2. Practice noticing the gems of virtues within yourself, and others
3. Memorize this remarkable quote:

Regard man as a mine rich in gems of inestimable value. Education can, alone, cause it to reveal its treasures, and enable mankind to benefit therefrom.
(Baha’u'llah, Gleanings from the Writings of Baha’u'llah, p. 259)

I will be on the lookout for my humility! I know it must be buried somewhere… Because before I can polish the gem, I need to find it…

Humility exalteth man to the heaven of glory and power, whilst pride abaseth him to the depths of wretchedness and degradation.
(Baha’u'llah, Epistle to the Son of the Wolf, p. 29)

P.S. Turns out the joke was not so bad after all… Talk about a talent for self-torture. Oh well, live and learn.

Some days I am calm; others, I am restless:

Thou seest, O Thou Who art my All-Glorious Beloved, the restless waves that surge within the ocean of my heart, in my love and yearning towards Thee. I implore Thee, by the signs of Thy majesty and the evidences of Thy sovereignty, to subdue Thy servants by this Name Which Thou hast made to be the King of all names in the kingdom of Thy creation. Potent art Thou to rule as Thou pleasest. No God is there but Thee, the All-Glorious, the All-Bountiful.

Do Thou ordain, moreover, for every one who hath turned towards Thee what will make him steadfast in Thy Cause, in such wise that neither the vain imaginations of the infidels among Thy creatures, nor the idle talk of the froward amidst Thy servants will have the power to shut him out from Thee. Thou, verily, art the Help in Peril, the Almighty, the Most Powerful.
(Baha’u'llah, Prayers and Meditations by Baha’u'llah, p. 67)

So I am learning to be patient. And I envision myself as the calm kelp floating gently on the surface of the ocean, slowly going up and down with the waves, unhindered by their angry energy, aware of their gentle caress, immersed in the rhythm of life and in God’s love — simply, patiently, presently:

The Pen of the Most High hath, at all times and under all conditions, remembered, with joy and tenderness, His loved ones, and hath counselled them to follow in His way. Well is it with him whom the changes and chances of this world have failed to deter from recognizing the Day Spring of the Unity of God, who hath quaffed, with unswerving resolve, and in the name of the Self-Subsisting, the sealed wine of  His Revelation. Such a man shall be numbered with the inmates of Paradise, in the Book of God, the Lord of all worlds.
(Baha’u'llah, Gleanings from the Writings of Baha’u'llah, p. 340)

As I was getting ready to go to Peter and Riva’s prayer meeting, the “Tiny Seed” melody came to mind:

I am, O my God, but a tiny seed which Thou hast sown in the soil of Thy love…

So timely, for the theme of the prayer meeting tonight was to be Transformation.

We must strive with energies of heart, soul and mind to develop and manifest the perfections and virtues latent within the realities of the phenomenal world, for the human reality may be compared to a seed. If we sow the seed, a mighty tree appears from it. The virtues of the seed are revealed in the tree; it puts forth branches, leaves, blossoms, and produces fruits. All these virtues were hidden and potential in the seed. Through the blessing and bounty of cultivation these virtues became apparent. Similarly, the merciful God, our Creator, has deposited within human realities certain latent and potential virtues. Through education and culture these virtues deposited by the loving God will become apparent in the human reality, even as the unfoldment of the tree from within the germinating seed.
(Abdu’l-Baha, The Promulgation of Universal Peace, p. 90)

As I was driving I would listen to the song, immersed in Tara Ellis’ voice and singing along with her…

When I arrived in their welcoming home, the hosts offered prayer books but the one I picked was such an old edition that I got lost looking in vain for the prayer containing the verse about the tiny seed. Just as I gave up, I opened on a page with a prayer for children and started reading:

Glorified art Thou, O Lord my God! I give Thee thanks inasmuch as Thou hast called me into being in Thy days, and infused into me Thy love and Thy knowledge. I beseech Thee, by Thy name whereby the goodly pearls of Thy wisdom and Thine utterance were brought forth out of the treasuries of the hearts of such of Thy servants as are nigh unto Thee, and through which the Day-Star of Thy name, the Compassionate, hath shed its radiance upon all that are in Thy heaven and on Thy earth, to supply me, by Thy grace and bounty, with Thy wondrous and hidden bounties.

Then I thought, how appropriate, for these days I feel as if my life is starting anew:

These are the earliest days of my life, O my God, which Thou hast linked with Thine own days. Now that Thou hast conferred upon me so great an honor, withhold not from me the things Thou hast ordained for Thy chosen ones.

And then I recognized the verse I was looking for and switched from reading to singing:

I am, O my God, but a tiny seed which Thou hast sown in the soil of Thy love, and caused to spring forth by the hand of Thy bounty. This seed craveth, therefore, in its inmost being, for the waters of Thy mercy and the living fountain of Thy grace. Send down upon it, from the heaven of Thy loving-kindness, that which will enable it to flourish beneath Thy shadow and within the borders of Thy court. Thou art He Who watereth the hearts of all that have recognized Thee from Thy plenteous stream and the fountain of Thy living waters.

Praised be God, the Lord of the worlds.

(Baha’u'llah, Prayers and Meditations by Baha’u'llah, p. 176)

So often in life, the answer comes naturally, unforced — not when you seek it but when you are about to give up trying, and then, free from expectations, the answer appears… Answer for a tiny seed.

“Mitko, I did not know you have it in you!”. What my coworker meant was the ability to dance joyfully, just as the Indians, Carribeans, Latin Americans and anyone who participated in the International Day at work today. I told her “We all have it within us, we just need a chance to share it”. And we do!

I supplicate that you may become as new beings, illumined with the Divine Light, like unto shining lamps, and that from one end of Europe to the other the knowledge of the Love of God may spread.

May this boundless love so fill your hearts and minds that sadness may find no room to enter and may you with joyful hearts soar like birds into the Divine Radiance.

(Abdu’l-Baha, Paris Talks, p. 95)

What a joy today was. Certainly the best International Day at the office so far, even though the previous two were not bad at all. The food was great and as diverse as last year but the desire of so many people to jump into an improvised dance was the biggest and most pleasant surprise. The voting results of which continent wins will be announced tomorrow and I do hope that the European team will be remembers for the live gaida playing of my coworker Varol, but truly, who cares who wins? We all win.

That all nations should become one in faith and all men as brothers; that the bonds of affection and unity between the sons of men should be strengthened; that diversity of religion should cease, and differences of race be annulled — what harm is there in this?… Yet so it shall be; these fruitless strifes, these ruinous wars shall pass away, and the ‘Most Great Peace’ shall come…
(Baha’u'llah, The Proclamation of Baha’u'llah, p. viii)

There was such a sense of joyfulness! There was such a hunger for party, I truly wished they would just cancel work for the rest of the afternoon and let us party.

The idea to outdance the others came in a very improvised fashion — Varol started playing and I started dancing. Then the Indians did some of their dancing, later the Africans, later the Caribbeans. The best was when I decided to lead a horo and within seconds there were coworkers from Albania, Ethiopia, and Commoros join the Bulgarians‘ dance! God truly created us to be one human family!

God has created the world as one — the boundaries are marked out by man. God has not divided the lands, but each man has his house and meadow; horses and dogs do not divide the fields into parts. That is why Bahá’u'lláh says: “Let not a man glory in that he loves his country, but that he loves his kind.” All are of one family, one race; all are human beings. Differences as to the partition of lands should not be the cause of separation among the people.
(Abdu’l-Baha, Abdu’l-Baha in London, p. 55)

As I was joining the horo, the Bulgarian line dance which was the centerpiece of this Saturday’s celebration of the Bulgarian community in the metropolitan Washington, DC, I couldn’t help but reflect on how natural it was to reach out and hold the hand of the next person in the line. And it made no difference whether it was a stranger or a friend, a woman or a man, a child or an adult, an American or a Bulgarian. We were all one, in one big circle, following the rhythm of the “Lyuti Chushki” band, enchanted by the melody of the gaida (Bulgarian bagpipe) played by my wonderful Turkish coworker Varol.

Bahá’u'lláh has drawn the circle of unity, He has made a design for the uniting of all the peoples, and for the gathering of them all under the shelter of the tent of universal unity. This is the work of the Divine Bounty, and we must all strive with heart and soul until we have the reality of unity in our midst, and as we work, so will strength be given unto us.
(Abdu’l-Baha, Paris Talks, p. 53)

The next day I went to a Zumba class, a wonderful exercise following the Latin and sometimes Indian rhythms of upbeat dance music made to full you into thinking that all the sweating of exercising is not hard work if it is fun. I was admittedly the only man among many women but the awkwardness of dancing in that group was palpable even though the teacher’s enthusiasm was infectious, and so different from the equally energizing and sweat-producing Bulgarian line dance.

Now I might be comparing apples to oranges but I am still puzzled by the ingrained need for personal space which, to me at least, translates into a certain coldness of the American society. This wall of personal space, of propriety, of calculated politeness, is so hard to penetrate. Yet I am not giving up. So tonight, since nobody came to the Prayer Station and I had just baked banana bread, I decided to read a teaching prayer:

Praise be to Thee, O my God! These are Thy servants who are attracted by the fragrances of Thy mercifulness, are enkindled by the fire burning in the tree of Thy singleness, and whose eyes are brightened by beholding the splendors of the light shining in the Sinai of Thy oneness.

O Lord! Loose their tongues to make mention of Thee amongst Thy people, suffer them to speak forth Thy praise through Thy grace and loving-kindness, assist them with the cohorts of Thine angels, strengthen their loins in Thy service, and make them the signs of Thy guidance amongst Thy creatures.

Verily, Thou art the All-Powerful, the Most Exalted, the Ever-Forgiving, the All-Merciful.

and then ventured into the hallway to introduce myself to my neighbors by sharing with them my banana bread. The reactions of those who opened their doors was very positive (although there was one who looked through the peephole and did not open — must have been allergic to the smell of freshly baked banana bread . One neighbor, a young woman, decided to take an extra piece (I had originally typed “peace” — how appropriate on the International Day of Peace) for her roommate. Another neighbor told me about his newly born baby. Another one told me that this was the nicest thing that had happened to him in his life (I hope he was exaggerating, as sweet as that statement was!), and last but not least a teenage boy took a piece for his parents thanking me very politely. Most of them asked me if I was new here, and I was rather embarrassed to admit that I have been living in this apartment building for two years but only now was attempting to meet my neighbors in this, more systematic, way. So, now all of a sudden, the doors I pass on my way to the apartment each day have become more human. There are people living behind them. There are souls in the apartment building. May they all be guided:

O Thou, my God! Who guidest the seeker to the pathway that leadeth aright, Who deliverest the lost and blinded soul out of the wastes of perdition, Thou Who bestowest upon the sincere great bounties and favors, Who guardest the frightened within Thine impregnable refuge, Who answerest, from Thine all-highest horizon, the cry of those who cry out unto Thee. Praised be Thou, O my Lord! Thou hast guided the distracted out of the death of unbelief, and hast brought those who draw nigh unto Thee to the journey’s goal, and hast rejoiced the assured among Thy servants by granting them their most cherished desires, and hast, from Thy Kingdom of beauty, opened before the faces of those who yearn after Thee the gates of reunion, and hast rescued them from the fire of deprivation and loss – so that they hastened unto Thee and gained Thy presence, and arrived at Thy welcoming door, and received of gifts an abundant share.

O my Lord, they thirsted, Thou didst lift to their parched lips the waters of reunion. O Tender One, Bestowing One, Thou didst calm their pain with the balm of Thy bounty and grace, and didst heal their ailments with the sovereign medicine of Thy compassion. O Lord, make firm their feet on Thy straight path, make wide for them the needle’s eye, and cause them, dressed in royal robes, to walk in glory for ever and ever.

Verily, Thou art the Generous, the Ever-Forgiving, the Precious, the Most Bountiful. There is none other God but Thee, the Mighty, the Powerful, the Exalted, the Victorious.

- ‘Abdu’l-Bahá