Monthly Archives: March 2025

The Road to Diamond, Day 113: Playfulness

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Posted by on in collaborating, Community, Entertainment, Hiking and Nature, Inspiration, Personal Values, Social, Spiritual, Striving

Tom Petty, Harry Chapin and Rivers Cuomo shared the stage tonight, at The Raven Cafe, or so it seemed. The three musicians who were on stage evoked those men, in style-and somewhat in voice and appearance. They played and sang under the watchful poster eyes of Carlos Santana, The Who and Twenty One Pilots. It was a satisfying evening, of both playfulness and angst. The Rivers look-alike offered light-hearted tunes about an elfin girlfriend and living out of his car, juxtaposed with a darker tune about the latter situation. “Tom” sang of being occasionally bereft of spirit and of drinking on St. Patrick’s Day. “Harry” was mainly focused on his courtship and love for his wife.

It was a fine cap to a playful day. The morning brought me back to Bear and Dragon, this time for a French omelet, that was everything such fare should be-light and fluffy, complemented by a couple of English bangers and a pair of potato galettes. My seat was at the counter, shared with the cafe’s owner, who bantered a bit, in between his business calls. Bernie, the barista, tended well to my coffee and water needs.

Next up, in the afternoon, was a revisit to Arcosanti, the experimental community that lies an hour east of Prescott. I went there to get a couple of photos to send Kathy, in advance of our friends’ visit to Arizona, the second week of April. I also wanted to walk a bit on the Visitors Trail, that leads to the base of a small mesa, on the south side of the property. Before that, I took a short break in the laid-back cafe, enjoying a matcha latte. One of the attendants had a confession to make: His matcha lattes had used 2. 5 ounces of the powder. Fortunately, his co-worker fixed mine, with a more suitable 2 teasspoons of matcha. I read somewhere that there is a shortage of matcha in Japan. Maybe overzealous baristas in the U.S. are part of the reason for that.

Such was a light-hearted day, the first of Spring.

The Road to Diamond, Day 112: New Day

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Posted by on in Assistance, collaborating, Community, impediments, Inner Struggles, Matters of Faith, Personal Values, Service Activities, Social, Spiritual, Striving

March 20, 2025- Naw-Ruz, in Persian, means “New Day”. In Iran, traditionally, the Naw-Ruz holiday lasts 12 days. For us Baha’is, it is one day; essentially, it is the beginning of a new spiritual year. So, today is the beginning of 182 Baha’i Era.

We marked the day with a festive gathering, at which 51 people showed up, enjoying copious amounts of food, spirited and delightful music and vibrant conversations. Had the room been a bit larger, we may have even seen some, including me, dancing about. No matter, the musicians worked well together and our various discourses ran the gamut from Rubik’s Cube (a child completed it in less than four minutes) to the proper preparation of Persian rice.

I was glad to be able to work the breakdown shift (seems that I can take things apart better than put them together, and that’s okay-the lady who brought much of the decorations, signage and two main dishes deserved any help she could get.). Muscle memory took over, when it came time to shorten curtain rods- I hadn’t done that particular task since helping my mother,as an early teenager. Other tasks were quite routine.

With Naw-Ruz in the books, I thought of the things I used to do with two left feet, that are now de rigueur. Almost anything mechanical used to end upside down, or inside out. Much of that, though, came from a combination of overthinking, an inner voice that told me I was stupid and rushing through the task. Now, I let muscle memory take hold, go ahead and do the task with attention and patience and act with self-confidence. Bob Powers’ Law has finally become part of my inner dialogue. Bob was probably the finest boss I ever had. He told me that some day I would realize that there was nothing wrong with my mental functioning, but that I would have to realize that on my own-and it might come hard. I was 16, impulsive and whimsical. He was in his late forties and had been around the horn several times. I could have listened better.

This new day saw me send greetings to my dear friend in Manila, to others on the Navajo Nation and to my friend and mentor in Phoenix. All around the world, north and south, east and west, may our souls be guided to do what is best for all humanity.

Happy Spring, to all in the north and Joyous Autumn to all in the south!

The Road to Diamond, Day 111: Yin/Yang

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Posted by on in Assistance, children, collaborating, Community, Family, Inspiration, Matters of Faith, Personal Values, Social, Spiritual, Striving

March 19,2025- The little girl holding an arm load of red and green tennis balls looked plaintively at me, through the chain-link fence of the tennis court, as I was walking back from downtown. There, near my feet, was a stray ball, with the same yin/yang design as the ones she was holding. I picked up the ball and tossed it, underhand, over the fence to her waiting, appreciative father.

Earlier, while I was on the way downtown, a man and his three sons were riding their bicycles, with a good heady speed, up the slight hill. This sort of exercise is vital to people, especially children, so I gladly stepped aside. Kids on bicycles or on skateboards, deserve all the support they can get, from adults. It was a joy to see the father engaged with his children.

These families are not uncommon in Prescott. People are always gathered outdoors, in this manner. It made the message I read when I got home, from the Baha’i Faith’s Supreme Body, all the more cogent. The Universal House of Justice wrote us on the subject of the importance of family, as the basic unit of society. ‘Abdu’l-Baha said, in the early 20th Century, that the family was the miniature of a nation. In today’s letter, the Institution noted that there is a struggle between forces, which are pulling society in opposite directions. The family, in its functioning, needs to steer a middle path between the two extremes, and focus on building character in its children-a character which will serve the person well, throughout life.

Towards evening, I learned that someone in our neighbourhood, an obviously troubled individual, had to be jailed for lewd and lascivious behaviour. There are small children next door to Home Base I and two teenage girls live in houses across the street. I look out for these kids, while knowing they have loving and dedicated parents. The miscreant will not harm any of them, even if released for some reason.

There is always a yin and yang.

The Road to Diamond, Day 110: Clarity

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Posted by on in collaborating, Community, Family, Inspiration, Personal goals, Service Activities, Social, Spiritual, Striving, Travel

March 18, 2025- My time with the AARP accounting team brought the news that this is the Year of the Pittance. At least I owe nothing and am not depending on a hefty refund. The year really takes flight, once the tax returns are filed. There is a clarity, as to one’s financial situation, which in turn helps define the path ahead-in tandem with family milestones, friends’ plans to visit and the overall prognosis for community needs.

I met with our local Red Cross Director, yesterday, and agreed to hold down the fort during the next six months, at least, in terms of arranging coverage for any shelters we may need,during Spring and Summer. Even when I am on the road, in the first three weeks of May, I can monitor and contact our team members, who are exceptional in times of crisis.

A call came from Filipino friends, who will visit Arizona, from April 7-14. I will meet them in Las Vegas on the 7th, and will gladly show them our state’s highlights, visit other friends, and just be a good host. Anything that can cement a bridge across the Pacific is worth whatever is needed.

Meanwhile, here at Home Base, the rest of March is a quieter time, though Naw-Ruz, the Persian and Baha’i New Year, is two days away-and will be celebrated with feasting, music and dancing. Spring will arrive, the next day, and somewhere in the area there is a trail that will feel my footsteps in honour of Vernal Equinox.

So much is clear tonight, and despite the horrors that unfolded in the nation’s midsection, over the past few days, I sense a sowing of seeds is coming, in more ways than one. We the People will get past all the nonsense and obfuscation, because we can.

The Road to Diamond, Day 109: Cultural Markers

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Posted by on in Assistance, collaborating, Community, Historical, impediments, Personal Values, Service Activities, Social, Spiritual, Striving

March 17, 2025- I wore a teal-coloured shirt today. It was the closest I had to green, which many in the U.S. wear on St. Patrick’s Day, which is today. There is a plethora of chlorophyll about-green punch, green beer, even green eggs. No one wants green beef or chicken, of course, so red and white still colour our meats.

We honour a variety of cultural markers in the United States, a testimony to our status as a nation built by immigrants-some here since ancient times and others descended from those who have arrived since the establishment of a settlement in Pensacola, in what is now Florida, in 1559. We have evolved as a nation that has welcomed people from every other nation on Earth-as have several others in their turn: Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Brazil, Mexico, South Africa, Argentina, Chile, Peru and so on.

In today’s world, one can go to virtually any nation and find people from just about any other country. There is no real homogeneity, in terms of “ethnic purity”. We are in a place of sharing, yet there is a curious notion, among some, that cultural markers belong only to those who claim ownership of that culture. There is a view that “cultural appropriation” takes place, whenever those outside a cultural group show too much interest or enjoyment of its markers.

No one wants to lose their identity, and this is hardly the point of cultural sharing. It is wise to note when anyone, either in or out of the cultural group, tries to turn its practices into a mere money-making venture or combine it with some sort of unicultural mish-mash. It is best to resist such ersatz practices. Culture is best seen as an expression of the heart, and further as a voice to the identity of a people.

I do have Irish ancestry, on both sides of my family. My father’s paternal grandmother was pure Irish. My mother’s paternal forebears migrated from Ireland to Germany, during the Hanseatic Era, then came to the United States in the early Nineteenth Century. I also have French, English, German and Penobscot Nation ancestry. Some cultural practices could flow authentically from me; others, not so easily.

I have spent much time among Dineh and Hopi people, as well as Koreans and Filipinos. I have enjoyed a great deal of these four cultures, especially food and the arts. I have subsumed little of the outward cultural markers of these peoples; that is not my place. I do, however, honour the deeper energy behind their cultures and have put the most honourable features of their heritage to use in my own service to mankind. For example, the tendency of Dineh or Hopi to listen, deeply, to someone, without jumping into an argument or engaging in one-upmanship, has stood me well, on a great many occasions. The fastidiousness of Koreans and the gentle patience of Filipinos have also imparted lessons to me, in my daily life.

Man has always been on the move, and encountering those with different ways of conducting daily life is the lot of us all. Cultural markers need not be a barrier between groups.

Erin go bragh!

The Road to Diamond, Day 108: Perquisites

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Posted by on in collaborating, Community, Historical, impediments, Personal Values, Social, Spiritual, Striving

March 16, 2025- I have been blessed to have not been raised as what Mom used to call “a privileged character”. We were each loved and encouraged to develop moral fiber. Part of that was willingly taking our places in line, sharing with one another and with others and not expecting any over-the-top rewards for doing what we were supposed to do in the first place.

It is that way with, arguably, the majority of people around the country, and around the planet. We get up in the morning, go about our work or other daily tasks, enjoy the company of family members or others close to us and pursue our dreams-all within the bounds of the society in which we live. Some live hand-to-mouth, others, paycheck to paycheck and still others, like myself, have a bit more leeway. There are those who, either by dint of hard work and careful planning, live more comfortably than we. Then there are those who, by a variety of factors, have risen to a place of perquisite-indeed, the privileged ones about whom Mom warned us.

Everyone essentially has to do the same basic tasks each day-and none can escape the aches and pains of life, nor can anyone escape the transition to the spirit realm at some point, We each have moments of joy, and times of sorrow. Even the uberwealthy can find themselves in dire straits-either material or spiritual; maybe both. Therein lies the masquerade of perquisites. It strikes me as sad, that the most powerful people on Earth are often the most insecure; they appear to us as needing artificial protection from reproach; indeed, protection from any criticism. Thus we have the spectacle of people who merely protest at Tesla dealerships being labeled “domestic terrorists”. (NOTE: Anyone who vandalizes property, public or private, is committing a crime and deserves to pay the price.)

Free speech is not curbed by the perquisites of its focus occupying a place in the upper strata of society or of government. Free speech does not depend for its existence on being in any sort of agreement with those in positions of power, real or imagined. I am no fan of religious zealotry or of political extremism. Nonetheless, absent acts of terror or concrete evidence that same is being planned, I oppose the detention, incarceration or deportation of any citizen or legal resident of this country-be they Right, Left or anywhere in-between. Removal of those here unlawfully still needs to be accomplished in as dignified and humane a manner as is humanly possible. It cannot be done haphazardly, lest human beings fall through the cracks-some of them literally so.

There is no perquisite that says someone in power can unilaterally do as suits him/her. In that, as we saw in 1974, Richard Nixon was wrong. So is anyone else who assumes otherwise. Abraham Lincoln noted that the President of the United States has enormous power. It is, however, not unlimited.

The Road to Diamond, Day 107: Shelter

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Posted by on in collaborating, Community, Inner Struggles, Inspiration, Personal Values, Service Activities, Social, Spiritual, Striving

March 15, 2025- It started off in less than stellar fashion. As I went to put my backpack in the rear of a co-worker’s Jeep, the coffee cup I had set on the median caddy toppled over. Fortunately, the liquid was easily drained off the rear splash pad. Then, his door netting got caught on a grommet of my boot, and it took a bit of teamwork to get the net loose,without damaging it.

The shelter simulation started off slowly, like most of what I do. A few people showed up late and it took a fair amount of digging through the back of the Red Cross trailer, to find two large and fairly essential items. We did well, though, just by staying the course, and as our chief supervisor said, not acting like headless chickens. We did well on all but one scenario, and that one was more a matter of fatigue-towards the end of the exercise, and is not something either of us involved would repeat, in real time.

I relaxed alone at Home Base, after the day was finished. After a nap, I reflected on the way in which Home Base is itself a shelter. I watched the rest of “Long Bright River”, noting the ways in which people provide shelter for one another: Siblings, colleagues, kindred souls living on the street, parents and children. I saw the ways in which people can make good choices and strengthen community. I saw the ways in which people can make bad choices and drive wedges between themselves and those they otherwise love.

I have chosen the concept of shelter as my love language of sorts, and will be involved in it, one way or another, for the rest of my lucid life. The simulation only reflected how strongly I feel about this being a birthright of every human being, of every sentient being. Let it ever be thus.

Here’s a version of “Gimme Shelter” that you may not have heard, from 1970.

https://www.google.com/search?q=gimme+shelter+merry+clayton&client=firefox-b-1-d&sca_esv=cd29d8d78246c2c7&channel=entpr&udm=7&biw=1280&bih=639&ei=7GDWZ9nMOvbckPIP-trpkA0&oq=gimme+shelter-Merry&gs_lp=EhZnd3Mtd2l6LW1vZGVsZXNzLXZpZGVvIhNnaW1tZSBzaGVsdGVyLU1lcnJ5KgIIADIGEAAYFhgeMgYQABgWGB4yBhAAGBYYHjIGEAAYFhgeMgYQABgWGB4yBhAAGBYYHjIGEAAYFhgeMgYQABgWGB4yBhAAGBYYHjIGEAAYFhgeSJVGUPgNWP0zcAF4AJABAJgBa6AB0wSqAQM2LjG4AQHIAQD4AQGYAgegAsMEwgIKEAAYsAMY1gQYR8ICCBAAGIAEGKIEmAMAiAYBkAYIkgcDNi4xoAeLKg&sclient=gws-wiz-modeless-video#fpstate=ive&vld=cid:46afeb7c,vid:AHvXhWJ0oHU,st:0

The Road to Diamond, Day 106: The Wages of Indiscipline

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Posted by on in collaborating, Community, impediments, Inspiration, Personal Values, Social, Spiritual, Striving

March 14, 2025- I am watching a limited series, called “Long Bright River”. It’s a Philadelphia show, following the life of a police officer, a single mother whose son’s father is a deadbeat and whose sister is a troubled streetwalker. There seem to be a lot of independent, limited series about police these days. Most show their subjects as complex characters, who nonetheless approach their tasks with a measure of self-discipline and their lives a bit more recklessly.

Watching this series and reflecting on the country as it is in the midst of a spiral of indeterminate direction, I thought of the roles that discipline and its opposite are playing in the roll-out. Those who are engaged in the present downsizing are accomplishing success by happenstance, as if Jackson Pollack were to have created a few coherent works of art, in the midst of his series of what I would name “Splotch Art”, but is more commonly and politely known as Abstract Impressionism.

We are in a state of social flux, in which the seeming flood tide of cutbacks and closures looks to be a carefully crafted assault on the Administrative State. There is a certain discipline in the actions of those in the Executive Branch, even as it outwardly appears to be indisciplined and chaotic. Project 2025, as loathsome as several parts of it are, is carefully laid out. It is the speed and scope of the layoffs and cutbacks that give the appearance of recklessness.

Nonetheless, there was, for a good many years, a creeping indiscipline overtaking bureaucracy, indeed overtaking society, at all levels. With that came the somnabulism that accompanies all too many pet projects foisted by individuals in Legislatures and Councils at the local, state and Federal levels. Money was being misspent, wasted-maybe not across the board, but frequently enough that some measure of rollback would have been in order. When that rollback was resisted, it became a cyst on the Body Politic,and the wages of indiscipline were bound to be paid out.

Any time a person decides to rebuild a sense of order and discipline in own life, there are a variety of options available. Gradual adjustments in eating habits and changes in exercise routines, even in sleeping habits, have been the path that has worked for me, over the past five years, building on the use of supplements since 2014. Others use a Boot Camp approach, with Cross Fit memberships, Iron Man training, and so on. Still others lean on fad diets.

Our society has relied on instant gratification, moral license and an ethic of nonjudgmentality,to the point where confusion has set in on a wide scale, leading those on one end of the spectrum to view democracy as outmoded and those on the other end to see Fascism in every attempt to get some sense of fiscal responsibility established. Thus, the lumbering financial behemoth is being bound at the ankles, and is in danger of toppling.

Discipline is needed, both in the conduct of governmental affairs AND in the practice of restoring a culture of responsibility to both government and society. Everything can’t happen everywhere, all at once. Mass layoffs do more harm than good, and save little or nothing. Careful examination of each line item of the Federal budget, by forensic accountants, may be dull as dust, but it is the only way that the deficit is going to be meaningfully brought down-and kept from roaring back as a result of overkill on the part of the current group of clear-cutters.

I’ve said it before- a scalpel, not a hatchet.

The Road to Diamond, Day 105: Plenty of Atmosphere, No River

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Posted by on in collaborating, Community, Personal goals, Personal Values, Social, Spiritual, Striving, Travel

March 13, 2025- The warnings were all over the Web: “Atmospheric River threatens California on Wednesday night!” When I woke, this morning, I looked out the window and saw a modest series of puddles and light rain falling, but no surging water. Maybe the dry ground just soaked most of it in. It seems to have been another case of media sensationalism, at any rate.

Other than managing to lose two hair brushes, in the span of a week, I made it to San Diego and back to Prescott, with little fanfare. Three of the four scheduled online meetings went off nicely, though I will catch most of the last one via its recording. I take check-out time seriously, so that cut my viewing time. I had a nice visit with an old friend, yesterday, and caught up with other friends in Ocean Beach during the three days I was there.

Here in Arizona, I noticed the ground in the “Outback”, between Ehrenburg and Congress, was saturated in spots and there appeared to have been a few scattered incidents of flooding, but only in sparsely-inhabited areas. We got a bit of snow in the Bradshaw and Sierra Prieta Ranges, and may get more overnight and tomorrow. I guess it’s better late than never.

So now, I will focus on the Home Front, community safety and environmental matters, for the next six weeks at least. Progress has been made here, on several fronts, so it’s time to build on it.

The Road to Diamond, Day 104: Efficiency

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Posted by on in collaborating, Community, Inspiration, Personal Values, Service Activities, Social, Spiritual, Striving, Travel

March 12, 2025, San Diego- The bow-tied server had my friend and I seated, took drink orders and was on the spot to take our meal orders, as soon as we put down the menus. The meal was delivered, fresh and hot, within fifteen minutes of our orders. On the flip side, he took our plates once they were empty and had check to table, and processed, within five minutes of taking my friend’s plate. Of course, once his work for us was done, we were free to sit in sobremesa for as long as we pleased. (This is the tradition of relaxing at table, after a meal has concluded.)

The lunch at Corky’s, in Ladera Ranch, northeast of San Clemente, was a prime example of intelligently executed efficiency-not plowing ahead, almost mindlessly, but carrying out one’s task with due consideration of everyone who is affected. Alberto, our server, deserves recognition for this. He probably would say it is the normal course of his work, but there we are.

I don’t always manage to get tasks done with the intelligently executed efficiency I would like. Sometimes, there are too many moving parts for the time frame that is established or I have too many items on my agenda. If others are involved, and their decision-making process is too fluid or changeable, I have to double back and find at least one or two work-arounds, just in case the process starts to look like Whack-a-Mole. If I have not given myself enough time, or rest, to be at my peak, it looks like I have my own game of Whack-a-Mole. Things are getting better, though, with allowing more time and focus.

I learn a lot from people like Alberto, and so paying attention to how others go about their jobs has reaped me a fair number of dividends. Things like overseeing a Red Cross shelter simulation, this coming Saturday or setting up a Baha’i election, to be held in mid-April, with notices sent out within the next week or so, are matters that require intelligent efficiency. For that matter, simpler and more quotidian tasks that affect other people deserve the same.

It’s fascinating what one can learn-when own leisure is the basis of someone else’s effort.