March 2, 2019- 

I began my penultimate physical Fast today.  Once I reach the age of seventy, in November of next year,  abstinence from food and drink no longer is binding, and the Fast will bring additional spiritual duties.

For this year, though, I am following the course prescribed by Baha’u’llah:  When not traveling or engaged in arduous physical labour, I abstain from food and drink, from sunrise to sunset, from today through March 20.  Travel to and from Korea, in a few short days, will truncate the physical aspect of the Fast, with the spiritual duties remaining in place.

I have nineteen thoughts I wish to share:

1. As stated yesterday, all life is sacred.
2.  Those who, for whatever reason, don’t view their lives, or those of others, as sacred are to be embraced in their suffering-and not condemned, though they must be held to account for acts of violence.
3. If someone takes me to task, even harshly, and I know that one is right, I need to be the change.
4. No one has the individual right to strike another person, unless one is responsible for that other person’s well being, as a parent or guardian-and even then, the reason for the spanking is understood by the other and it is only used as a last resort.
5. Even insects and arachnids should be captured and released outside, into a safe place, whenever possible.  They have their place in the scheme of things.
6. There is no human trash. Some just need to be monitored more closely and held in firmer check.
7. Education is a universal right.
8. Food and beverages should be as free of contamination as is humanly possible.
9. Fun is essential to the soul, though never had at another’s expense.
10. Everyone’s legitimate work deserves respect.
11. All prayers are heard by, and affect, the Universe.
12. Time in nature is also essential to the soul.
13. Love is the primary building block of the Universe.
14. May I never walk away from a cry for help.
15. A call for peace is the best sound that may escape one’s lips, first thing in the morning.
16. The morning sun, the evening stars and moon are here to reassure us that there is always a force, greater than ourselves.
17. When I am in a half-sleep, I communicate both with departed souls and with those who are in  my life, but who are not immediately present.
18. Plants show an intelligence, in the way they propagate and in the way they seek what they need.
19. God, the Divine, the Universe, the Infinite, the Eternal, reveals to us what we need and what we can comprehend, in the way of truth.  It has always been thus.

None of these are original thoughts, but they occur to me nonetheless and so I share.