Ten Beautiful Things

19 Izzat 163 B.E. - September 26, 2006

Beauty is one of the attributes of God. So here is a list of ten beautiful items in my environment:

The nine-pointed star string art setting on my mantel;
The cat whose name is Beauty;
The Harley-Davidson mug setting on my nightstand;
The Baha’i Prayer Book beside my computer;
The way the rising sun transforms the bark of a stone pine tree to gold;
The green prayer beads I use when I chant God’s Most Great Name;
The statue of the mother cat and kitten setting on my mantel;
The oriental wall fan hanging on the wall beside the T.V. set;
The spider’s web that glistened in the sun when Mom and I took our walk this morning;
The yellow tulip in a neighbor’s yard.

The Tongues of Poets

12 Izzat 163 B.E. – September 19, 2006

“… The Báb subsequently quoted this well-known tradition: ‘Treasures lie hidden beneath the throne of God; the key to those treasures is the tongue of poets.’ …”

(Shoghi Effendi, The Dawn-Breakers, p. 258)

Prayer and meditation is important to a mystic or spiritual poet, because without these practices the poet can’t unlock the riches “beneath the throne of God”. These treasures are spiritual rather than material and the poet’s tongue is the hand that writes the poem in conjunction with the mind and the soul.

No matter where a poet looks, or what a poet reads there is inspiration. In my case I can’t find inspiration unless I pray and meditate daily. Without my time talking to the Beloved and listening of the Divine Voice, I couldn’t write any type of poem. It doesn’t matter where that poem is mystic, spiritual, or just about the material or physical world around me.

I think I’ll write a poem entitled The Tongues of Poets. This title has appealed to me ever since I read the quote. I didn’t read the quote in the Dawn Breakers, I think I read the quote in a poem book I have. The book was a collect of poems by Baha’i poets. I’ll have to find the book, I’m not sure which bookcase it is in so I’m going to have to look through them all. I think I’ll move all my poetry books to the same bookcase, that would make a specific book easier to find.

Peace and Healing

10 Izzat 163 B.E. – September 17, 2006 at 6:20:41 AM

Everyone prays for peace. In fact, from what I have seen lately peace is on everybody’s mind. Everyone wants peace, but how many of us have peace within our own selves. How many of us can set down and say that there is not hate within us for someone in this world? How many of us are holding onto old wounds and by so doing making them worse; how many obsessing over wrongs real or imagined and letting that interfere with our prayers for peace?

Part of the peace process is making peace within ourselves and with ourselves. Part of making peace within ourselves is healing and forgiveness. Forgiveness does not mean that we forget what happened or that we let it happen again. Forgiveness is putting the past in God’s hands and accepting the fact that the only thing we can control is our own emotions. It is our emotions, specifically that of hate that interferes with peace and with healing.

The each of us goes about forgiving and healing is an individual process. The method that works for one person will not work for another. Each of us has to find our own technique. For some of us saying a prayer of forgiveness for the offender and ourselves may be all that is necessary. For others writing it out in a private journal in addition to the prayer is necessary. There are, of course, other methods available to find ways to forgive. If one is unsure, which technique is best then one needs to talk to a friend, a psychologist, or a spiritual adviser. Even if one is sure of the necessary method, it still helps to talk to someone trustworthy; someone who will give impartial advice in these matters.

Wholeness

8 Izzat 163 B.E. – September 14, 2006

Wholeness

My being pulsates with joy,
delight flows from the deep recesses of my soul,
happiness washes across my mind,
pleasure baptizes me
resurrects me into a new reality.

Past and future merge
into the ecstasy of the present,
bliss is the realization of living
in a universe that desires to please.

Enjoyment of the small daily
lessons bring elation
and thrills my spirit.

I am made whole again
through the joyfulness of obedience
to the beloved.