Category Archives: Assistance

The Road to Diamond, Day 19: “And Here We Are”

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Posted by on in Assistance, collaborating, Entertainment, impediments, Inner Struggles, Inspiration, Personal Values, Social, Spiritual, Striving

December 17, 2024- On the now-shuttered television police procedural, “Blue Bloods”, the lead character, Police Commissioner Frank Reagan (Tom Selleck, Magnum, P.I.), would frequently acknowledge the situation he faced-with friend and foe alike, using the simple phrase “and here we are.” He then went on to find some sort of solution to even the stickiest of issues, mostly by the end of an episode.

December brings that phrase to mind, quite often. Here we are-in the cold, the dark, the period of least light, and in many years, the worst month for those with investments-as it is the month for “house cleaning”, divesting of funds that have run their course, before figuring out the final tax bill for the calendar year. Here we are also, in days of conviviality and gift giving; in days of group celebrations: Christmas, Chanukah and Kwanzaa. (Chanukah’s first day falls on Christmas Day, this year.)

So, we are, as is often the case, faced with a choice. The challenges won’t go away, so we can face them in the days to come. Celebrations, if passed over, will go away. To me, it’s better to enjoy the merriment, and restore positive energy, then face the cold, the dark and any financial woes, in a renewed state of emotional strength.

It is always advisable to recognize a problem, while forming a game plan with a solution which will have a good chance of making the situation better.

The Road to Diamond, Day 18: The Crick

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

December 16, 2024- With two quick movements, Dr. Robert soothed a crick in my neck, that had bothered me for nearly a month. I had kept it from being too bothersome, by applying Deep Blue oil blend. Chiropractic, though, is what tended the stiffness and restored my range of motion.

This evening, I pondered one of my mental cricks. I got a query from Penny, asking if I thought that I felt stuck with her, in the next life. My response, looking at her picture, was “Absolutely not. I love you and always will.” I then got a message that this beloved spirit was happy.

My mental crick came from the notion that two souls, and only two souls, can be together for eternity. However, nowhere in the Baha’i Writings does it say that, specifically. It does say that two souls bonded together in this life will be together in all the worlds of God. This does not preclude bonding with other souls, in the event one outlives the other. A letter written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi explains that:

“There is no teaching in the Bahá’í Faith that ‘soul mates’ exist. What is meant is that marriage should lead to a profound friendship of spirit, which will endure in the next world, where there is no sex, and no giving and taking in marriage; just the way we should establish with our parents, our children, our brothers and sisters and friends a deep spiritual bond which will be everlasting, and not merely physical bonds of human relationship.

“There is nothing against a person remarrying, the implication of unity in marriage being meant as a spiritual bond which will be everlasting, and not a sexual thing, in the quotation you cited.” – Written to an individual believer, in December, 1954.

The bond between Penny and me is an eternal, spiritual one. The bond between me and any other person can also be an eternal, spiritual one. I feel relieved by this meditation.

So often, we look at such matters solely from the standpoint of the temporary, physical reality. Those with whom I feel the strongest bond, however, are so much closer to me in a spiritual sense. I see that is true of every other pair of people who are truly united.

Two cricks are thus relieved, this evening.

The Road to Diamond, Day 14: Home-bound

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Posted by on in Assistance, collaborating, Community, Entertainment, impediments, Inner Struggles, Personal Values, service, Social, Spiritual, Striving

December 12, 2024- Last night was no fun. I got up, twice in the night and knelt by the open toilet. I felt a bit better, after the second time, but nowhere near well enough to go to my scheduled work assignment. The school administrators had no problem with my staying home. I felt a bit better, still, when it approached time for me to get a chiropractic adjustment. Still, the protocol for stomach flu is no contact with regular appointments, for twenty-four hours, so I rescheduled that as well.

I probably got more sleep today than I have in twenty-five years, thus accounting for the fairly quick rebound from this morning. I kept dreaming that I was going through a couple of folders that my friend, Kathy, gave me to read. There are no such folders here, so maybe they are at her house and I will be asked to read them later.

Other than that, my waking time allowed for catching up on reading, and on a bit of binge-watching shows like “Lioness” and season 5 of “The Expanse”. “The Chosen” is also going to be in the queue, but as the weekend approaches, there are three days of intense activity-so long as I make an overall recovery. The computer screen is no match for Acker Night, a Red Cross Christmas Party and a major Baha’i gathering.

The Road to Diamond, Day 10: Consensus

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

December 8, 2024- When I have substituted in an elementary classroom , at the beginning of a week, I have filled classroom jobs, by setting the previous week’s job holders’ names aside and selecting the new people from the jar that had the rest of the class members’ names. There were no favourites, and everyone accepted the job they were given.

Those gathered at table, this noon, were of one opinion regarding the present system of selecting people to fill government positions. Across the board, it seems that those who play the camaraderie game are finding their way to key Cabinet and sub-Cabinet posts. Now, this is obviously an experiment, much as the President-elect’s first term was. It has been pointed out, elsewhere, that there is a chance that the nominees may turn out to be quick studies and actually do great work. They may see things on the ground, that lead them to back away from some of the more radical proposals being floated. My fellow diners were, however, not inclined to approve-even if they themselves had voted for him.

Experimenting and thinking outside the box, in governmental matters-or in any large-scale executive situations, can go either way. The best, most versatile of Renaissance personages can think on their feet and get great deeds accomplished. President Harry Truman is an example of someone who was not given much chance of success, yet rose to the occasion. There are also those who are thrust into offices that are beyond their skill sets, and great damage has resulted. I personally have been in both situations, though there was not a whole lot of wreckage left in my wake, when I was a bit over my head. A good back-up team was in place, and carried on.

I trust that there will be a full period of due diligence by the Senate, and the duty of advisement and consent will be fulfilled. That was the consensus among the gathered friends today, as well. May the reasonable and responsible programs advanced by the incoming leadership outweigh those proposals that may do more harm than good.

The Road to Diamond, Day 7: Songbirds

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

December 5, 2024- I received a video from the Baha’is of Manila, showing their newly renovated Center. All of my concerns about a safe workspace for the caretakers and kitchen staff have been addressed. It is a great day!

A Filipino expatriate here in Prescott told me, at a gathering this evening, that his mother recalls people in Palawan, the western island of the Philippines, sounded like birds when they talked. It was in reference to people going to that island, from other parts of the country, and speaking in dialects that others could not understand-like different songbirds not knowing each others’ trills.

I thought of how this dissonance happens, even between people who speak the same language, with the same accent. When we hear things through our own filters, rather than what is meant by the speaker, it’s as if there is scant understanding. One’s sweet warbling can even sound like the squawk of a parrot, or croak of a corvid. It is often best to run what you heard by the speaker, to dispense with any possible misunderstanding.

In any case, there is no need for long-term schisms between people of good will, when clear communication can be maintained.

The Road to Diamond, Day 3: Rest, and Planning

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

December 1, 2024, Grapevine- We mostly rested today, with my little family gearing up for their week and me planning out, roughly mind you, the month ahead. A brief conference call and a text message, or two, focused on a mid-month Baha’i meeting. Weekends in the first half of December will feature everyone, everywhere, wanting to do everything all at once-or so it seems on paper. Being only one soul, I will probably disappoint a few people, if I haven’t already-but let each one focus on themselves-and what they can do.

December is, typically, a month mostly spent around Home Base I. This year won’t be any different. The Courthouse Christmas Tree lighting, Acker Night, the Red Cross Christmas Party, Wreaths Across America, and the aforementioned meeting of our faith community will keep everything moving, once I get back to Prescott, on Tuesday. There will be two or three day trips to Phoenix and, after Christmas, a short visit to northern New Mexico, with the year-end Boot Drop, on Whiskey Row, bringing a year of tumult and action to a close.

I’ve grown a lot, and groaned very little. Those two polarities matter greatly, in looking at the year ahead-a “9 Universal Year”, which is a year of fruition and of wrapping up aspects of life that have worn out their purpose. Exactly what those are, for me, will be determined in the four weeks ahead, and in the first two months of 2025. I have no great words of wisdom to impart today-other than if given a choice between showing love and forbearance, or holding onto grudges and playing the blame game, choose the former. I rather prefer the High Road.

The Road to Diamond-Day 1: Cedar Ridge

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Posted by on in animal and plant life, Assistance, collaborating, Community, Family, Hiking and Nature, Personal goals, Personal Values, Social, Spiritual, Striving, Travel

November 29, 2024, Grapevine- The three of us stood, overlooking Cattail Pond, as if it were the Pacific Ocean. In Dallas, any body of water will fill that bill. We took this 4-mile loop, after finishing off most of yesterday’s left overs, at today’s lunch.

Cattail Pond (Above and below)

Each trip around the Sun brings a theme, of sorts. Today begins a two-year stretch, centered on the notion of Diamond Jubilee-the road to that date (11/28/25), and the journey on the hard rock plateau, that follows the Jubilee. I’ve been asked, by at least one friend, how my travel plans are shaping up for 2025. The only things that are certain are that I will spend three weeks with my special someone and our circle of friends,in Home Base III, for three weeks: Late January to mid-February. From then on, I will again be in constant travel mode, save for a few key dates in the Spring that will tie things up at Home Base I. The scope and direction of my journeys will depend on what happens in February, but there will be much work to get done, regardless.

For the next few days, though, I am soaking up family love, at HB II. Partly because of my birthday having been celebrated and because of a general celebration of Thanksgiving, I have been in constant touch with friends in Prescott and the Philippines, and by extension, across the globe. It is salubrious and I thank everyone, near and far, who has taken the time to honour my life. It takes three seconds to type a “Thank you”, so that’s what I’ve done. (Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, by contrast, wrote out hundreds of Thank You notes, in pen and ink, after each event to which she was invited, or which was held in her honour. She always was, and is, the gold standard).

Cedar Ridge is a remnant of glacial fingers extending down into the north Texas prairie, and leaving this pleasing network of hillocks and ravines, as a contrast to the sweeping riparian Plains. We had our share of short, but steep, climbs and descents. Thanks to the Audubon Society, I can’t think of a better way to “recover” from Thanksgiving Feast, part I and part II.

The sweep of Cedar Ridge Preserve, Dallas

A Year of Beauty; A Year of Release

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Posted by on in Assistance, collaborating, Community, Family, impediments, Inspiration, Matters of Faith, Personal goals, Personal Values, Service Activities, Social, Spiritual, Striving, Travel

November 27, 2024, Grapevine- This was the year that Mom went home to Dad and to her parents, siblings and youngest son. This was the year that we lost Marcia, Michele, Cousin David, Johnny and Verne. It seemed like a thousand celebrities went home to our Maker, whether they said they believed in Him or not.

It seemed for a time, that we would follow Mexico’s lead, and actually elect a woman as President-but that was not to be. Other forces have to run their course, and marginalized people have to feel that they truly matter and are heard. Other marginalized people will need to keep making their voices heard. As a friend said, after the election, the true gap is between classes, not races. There is much to be said for that notion.

I went clear across the continent, to Newfoundland and St.Pierre/Miquelon. Later, it was time to go northwestward, to Vancouver Island’s west coast and to the Sunshine Coast of British Columbia. There was time, in between and afterward, to pay respects to the woman who brought me into this world, and to be there when she left it.

In autumn’s colours and light, I left this continent for the longest period of time since I spent ten months in VietNam, so long ago. A good part of my heart stayed in the Philippines and waits there for me to return, early next year. The call to duty in Home Base I is also strong. I was, and am, determined to make the most of time I have there, that the Love of Baha’u’llah will be felt more strongly in that swath of north central Arizona.

Small gaps were closed this year. I spent time in a place that was central to the first stages of the American War for Independence; honoured a First Nations people, in two Canadian provinces and two others, on the opposite side of the country; spent a Baha’i Holy Day in the first House of Worship built in the Western Hemisphere; visited the most temperate place in the Philippines, and the westernmost part of that country; paid the last money owed on two credit accounts. I went to the top of Astoria Column, and later watched “The Goonies”, which was set in that mouth of the Columbia River. I saw whales swimming in the wild. I overcame some lingering doubts about myself.

So now, 73 is saying goodbye, and its successor promises to usher in a year of fruition, in place of this year of effort and struggle. A bit of 2024 remains, and there are goals to be reached in December. I will think further on them, as 74 marches in, tomorrow.

Splurge

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

November 24, 2024- This evening, we Baha’is celebrated the life of ‘Abdu’l-Baha, as the day which He allowed as a day to honour the Covenant, or agreement, between Baha’u’llah and His followers, and by extension His life as the Center of that Covenant. He did not want an excess of attention on His life and accomplishments, other than what He was able to show us, as an example of how to live.

I splurged a bit on the refreshments for this event, always anticipating a crowd. When a smaller group shows, and there is a lot left over, there are plenty of avenues for sharing the excess, so in the end, it is money well spent. Coffee Klatsch and the Soup Kitchen are tomorrow, and most of the food left over will be shared at those events. The rest goes in the freezer, while I am in Texas for Thanksgiving and my birthday.

There are some things on which it never hurts to splurge. Refreshments for special events are often in that category. Help for the poor, as a friend in the Bicol region of the Philippines is offering now, in the wake of the Quad Typhoons, is another such path. Love for one’s children, which my friend, K, showers in spades, is up there. Love for people in general, and a certain person in particular, is at the top of the list.

Like the water in a tsunami, that which you give comes flooding back, though not in a damaging way.

Pre-Approved

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

November 22, 2024- An earnest woman offered advice to her long-time friend, regarding how to handle a nettlesome and persistent critic. He left the conversation, quietly, and headed home. A short time later, he called her and announced he was cutting ties with her, saying she was being unfair to the other person. Her own cage rattled, the lady called another friend, who told her to not pay heed to the man. “You are not worthless; you are pre-approved”.

We all know about “pre-approved”-the ploy by certain credit bureaus and financial institutions to get us to pursue lines of credit and personal loans, at what look like generous terms. Most often, a closer will come in, hem and haw and bring the deal to a good, old-fashioned shut down.

We humans are, however, pre-approved by the Creator, in the truest sense of the term. We each come with strengths, offerings, challenges to meet. Many of these are shared with others, but always in a way unique to the bearer. Each of us can make a special mark, or collaborate with those around us to create a tower of strength.

None of this depends on the approval of those on the outside of the process. Monday Morning quarterbacks can be useful in suggesting ways to correct errors in a given process, but they are not entitled to dismantle the effort, nor are they in a position to drag those who are in the vanguard of the action through the mud.

Post-mortems are best carried out by those who have given their all. Their skills, their energy, their willpower is pre-approved.