Category Archives: Community

The Road to Diamond, Day 48: Desert Rose

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

January 15, 2025- He was never, to my knowledge, at a loss for words. in his search for truth, he frequently spoke of a figure in his dreams, to whom he referred as “the shiny man”. I, too, dreamed of that same figure, on my first visit to Prescott, in 1979. William Sears and I had both dreamed of ‘Abdu’l-Baha. Mr. Sears, who preferred to be called “Bill”, established Desert Rose Baha’i School, along with his wife, Marguerite, in 1988. It was held in various locations, in Tucson, for its first eight years. Mr. Sears passed away in 1992, but Marguerite and a small group of helpers purchased land in 1996. This became Desert Rose Baha’i Institute, occupying about half of the land that Marguerite had envisioned for the Institute. (The other half, still owned by individual Baha’is, faces an uncertain future.)

Penny and I visited DRBI last, in 2007, when we joined a gathering of musicians. The late Dan Seals was among the artists present, and is the only person who has ever persuaded me to sing in a chorus. It was not a bad experience, joining people whose voices were pleasant, in a rendition of “We Are One”. That, of course, was both Dan’s, and Penny’s, last visit to Desert Rose. He died in 2009, and she, in 2011.

I went there today, after visiting Tohono Chul Park, in Oro Valley, near Tucson. That salubrious desert park’s Garden Bistro served up what will now be among my favourite plates: Mesquite flour pancakes, filled with Poblano peppers, topped with fresh berries. It was my second fabulous meal in a row, dinner having been a supremely savoury taco salad, at Benson’s Cafe 86, a homey local favourite, staffed by a hard working couple.

It was thus time for spiritual food to supplement the repasts. I pulled up next to a sign at Desert Rose that said “administration”. A small group was sitting outside a house next to the building. After greeting each other, I got basic directions from one of the ladies, as to the location of Mr. and Mrs. Sears’ memorial sites. (Marguerite passed in 2006, and is buried in the Institute’s Memorial Park.) After a brief stroll around the main property, I stopped at the memorial dome that is dedicated to Bill, reflecting on his life’s work, which ranged from being a sportscaster in Philadelphia to humanitarian efforts, from Mississippi to South Africa. He was ever a stalwart foe of racial segregation, but always worked within the law.

The Memorial Dome for William Sears, Desert Rose Baha’i Institute, Eloy, Arizona.

Here are a few of the other buildings that grace the property.

Round House is the dining hall and doubles as a conference center.
Musician Chris Ruhe manages this small FM radio station, which serves up both spiritual and secular programming.
Hadden Hall is the main conference center.
This is Marguerite Reimer Sears’ resting place. Several other friends are also laid to rest in the Memorial Park.

After saying several prayers there, I went back to my hosts’ house and joined them for a cup of peppermint tea. Telahoun and Brooke Molla were proprietors of an Ethiopian restaurant in Tempe, when I lived in Phoenix. We enjoyed the fare there, a few times, and became friendly with the family. It was a delightful surprise to find them living at DRBI, with their youngest child.

PROMOTION: Desert Rose is looking for energetic, sustainability-oriented xeriscapers or those trained in permaculture. The kitchen garden and a tree-planting campaign are the current foci of self-sustaining volunteers. Spiritual open-mindedness is a plus. So, too, is being able to innovate ways to deal with extended periods of high heat (Upwards of 118 F, in the height of summer.) The adobe homes do offer protection and there are two swimming pools. A large bank of solar panels helps to provide power.

https://drbi.org/facilities-and-rentals#rh

The Road to Diamond, Day 46: Copper Mountain

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

January 13, 2025, Superior, AZ- The Wolf Moon shone through my front window, keeping me company, as I read the morning paper, at Home Base I. Thirteen hours later, a sliver has darkened, and the night is quiet here, in the eastern foothills of the Superstition Mountains. The sub-range is also called Apache Tears Mountains, in reference to the gemstone that is quite common in these parts, and named for the tears of the survivors of warriors who rode their horses off a nearby cliff, rather than be captured. In reality the gems are flakes of obsidian.

I am spending the night at Copper Mountain Motel, where I stay when visiting Superior. Usually once a year, it is a joy to spend a few hours at Boyce Thompson Arboretum or a nearby wilderness area. Main Street is also worth an early morning visit, for the shops and Victorian hotel that have sprung up in recent years. These might be tomorrow morning’s agenda.

Today started with the Monday morning coffee group, which saw all regular members arrive fairly early and solve the major problems of the world. We will repeat that process next week, as for some reason, the problems just don’t stay solved. If at first you don’t succeed……

After carefully packing, and listening to a full moon meditation, I drove towards I-17, stopping to pick up a supplement and connecting to Sirius XM, so as to keep tabs on the Los Angeles fire situation. The heartbreak will be long in abating, even if not another inch should catch fire. Whilst en route here, U.S. 60 found many of us inching along, only to note that a major pile-up involving five vehicles, had taken place. I was saddened to see four or five people sitting on blankets beside the highway and looking stunned. Eight people, including an infant, had to be sent to hospital. The pain goes on. In Superior itself, I stopped at the Arizona Rest Area, only to see signs that said the waterline for the facility had broken-an oblique connection to the Los Angeles blazes. Thankfully, there is no blaze at present in this area.

A positive energy is flowing here tonight. After another nice meal at Los Hermanos, a place I first patronized in 1979, I walked back to the motel and took in another two episodes of “The Chosen”, Season 4. The series about the ministry of Jesus the Christ has its unsettling moments, yet affirms much of what I believe about the nature of faith.

In light and darkness, energy is often what you make it to be.

The Road to Diamond, Day 45: Seniorhood

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

January 12, 2025- Two men, about my age hung around me last night, at The Raven, as a diverse crowd of us took in a concert by CheekTones, one of Prescott’s premier bands. Don Cheek and three or four bandmates have been rocking various houses for about twelve years now. They invariably pack whatever establishment they’re in, to a great measure because they can hold a tune for six or seven minutes-sometimes longer.

At any rate, one of my age mates is given to want to have conversations, while the band is playing. That doesn’t work too well at a CheekTones gig, and he was visibly frustrated, both with me and with the couple whose table he was sharing. in a mild bit of projection, he asked me if I was having fun. I was, actually, especially when the band was in full roar. The other gentleman, who lives just up the street from Raven, comes in and either stands with other people his age or takes the wooden chair by the house piano. He rarely speaks to anyone, but likes to hear CheekTones and one or two other bands. If I manage to get a table, I am glad to share it with whoever needs a seat. Life is too short for anything less. It’s hard on a night like that, to actually get a seat, but I did, when a wary, guarded woman who had been sitting by herself got up and left. By then, the silent man had also left, otherwise, he could have joined me.

I mention all this, in consideration of my being in the middle third of my eighth decade on this blue planet. Years ago, a long-time acquaintance, then in his early nineties, sported a bumper sticker on his SUV: “Aging-if it’s not your issue now, it will be.” At the time, aging was my issue only in regard to my in-laws, who were in their mid-eighties and my mother, in her late seventies. My primary issue then was adult care of a middle-aged disabled person, my wife. Children’s issues were important, too, but secondary.

I have, however, always recognized the import of the matter. Being the oldest of four surviving siblings, every year I live is also a beacon of hope for my sister and brothers. Besides, I agree with someone who remarked this morning at breakfast: “I love getting older.” Before the brickbats start flying, let me say that I enjoyed being a child and a teenager, and being in my 30s and 40s; 20s and 50s, not so much, but much of that was on me.

It helps that I have feelings for someone, who I will see again soon. It helps that I have a strong network of friends and a loving family. Mostly, though, I have come to be a self-contained unit, comfortable in my own skin. Mom taught us that, by her own example. She liked being with people, but when alone, she was quite happy. Love from others cannot really mean anything, without a healthy self-love.

So, despite the aches and pains which I see around me, and which may someday hit closer to home, I am good with seniorhood.

The Road to Diamond, Day 44: Ring of Fire

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Posted by on in collaborating, Community, distraction issues, impediments, Matters of Faith, Personal Values, Social, Spiritual, Striving

January 11,2025- The views from north Los Angeles County have been dispiriting, as views of mass destruction always are. There seems to be no end to burned-out shells of what used to be homes, businesses, institutions of culture; no end to scenes of forest gone, and dead wildlife lying on the forest floor. There is, also, it seems, no end to the finger-pointing back and forth, between people who didn’t like each other, before the fires, and won’t like one another even after some of them are dead. This last accomplishes nothing, as the well-to-do and the homeless, alike, find themselves on the street and too many are wondering where their next meal might be found.

Los Angeles proper is not free and clear, yet. No place within a thirty mile radius of the Palisades or Eaton fires is. The Santa Ana winds are that strong. Prayers are going up, all over the world, that next week’s tempests will not exacerbate the current fires, or spark new ones, along the State Highway 15, I-5 or Highway 101 corridors. Solutions are being devised, to the water accessibility issues, and in the United States Senate, where a conservative Republican (Montana’s Tim Sheehy) ,who is also a wildland firefighter, has reached out to Senator Schiff, of California and Senator Kim, of New Jersey-which has also had recent wildfire woes. The Federal strategy should prove proactive and its necessity is beyond argument, given that FEMA ends up with the tab for much of the costs of recovery. The piper can set the stage before playing the tune.

Too often, in times of disaster, from Pearl Harbor, through September 11, 2001 and on through all manner of hurricanes, tornadoes, chemical explosions, mass shootings, and wildfires, naysayers have to some extent deflected the public’s awareness of the actual causes of a tragic event and been allowed to interfere with the process of recovery. The public weal calls for us to shut off the noise and focus on actual causes of a disaster. Usually, those causes are far more complex than the fast track news cycle allows for analysis. Addressing only surface issues serves merely to guarantee that the same problems will be faced, the next time, regardless of the locale.

I live in a fire prone area. There is no daylight between the suffering of a conservative rancher or that of his neo-hippy artist neighbour. We have learned to see the needs of both as equally worthy of consideration, and it is highly likely that the one would come to the aid of the other, without hesitation, judging by the reactions to our own last big blaze, in 2013, when 19 wildland firefighters died in a firestorm. Conservatives and progressives spoke with one voice, when misfits came out of the woodwork, after the blaze had been extinguished and threatened the very lives of other firefighters, Go Fund Me,should there be a future fire, in a ludicrous claim of “speaking for freedom”. Everyone of sound mind stood together and helped both those who lost their homes and the families of the fallen Hot Shots.

That last is already happening, in Altadena, in Sylmar and in what remains of Pacific Palisades and south Malibu. Several nonagenarians were carried out of harm’s way, by their neighbours. Go Fund Me campaigns are in place for assistance to large families who have been displaced. A network of recovery is being established, across Los Angeles County and across the nation and the world. Fire teams from Oregon, Idaho, Alaska, Arizona, Nevada, Montana,Texas, the Navajo Nation, Canada and Mexico are on the ground, rendering assistance. World Central Kitchens, Project Rubicon and the American Red Cross are also in a full court press, across the County.

When disaster strikes, the greater fire of community strength rises. May it ever be thus.

The Road to Diamond,Day 41: Unpredictable

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

January 8, 2025- The ongoing saga of people settling in and around Los Angeles, for either a life of leisure or for pursuit of a fine, active regimen, and finding that Mother Nature has other ideas, has reached crisis proportions even more dire than in any past year. Perhaps it is due to the increased density of population, from even the 1990s-2010s, or just a consequence of rising global temperatures, but it seems worse.

Here at Home Base I, there was a brief period of snow, in the higher elevations, southwest of town and in the Santa Marias, to our northwest, but here in the downtown area, just a few sprinkles fell, late last night. We, like, California, are facing a Big Dry-at least until March. There is, of course, plenty of water-on paper, but I digress. The ultimate test of hydration for a community is if the taps start to trickle. Who knows if and when that will happen.

Life on the ground here remains fairly predictable, but on the larger scale, we may be seeing seismic changes, in short order, and it feels at times like the news cycle is whipsawing, back and forth. I have learned, though, that as long as the markets are open and there are no manufactured crises hitting too close to home, that we can each do our civic duty, show kindness to others-especially those most vulnerable and continue to speak our peace.

These things came to mind, this afternoon, as we considered another strange and unsettling time in our recent past: September, 2001. The teacher recalled his own experiences during that time, as a security guard in Phoenix. His wife was working in the tallest building in the city, at that time. He made a beeline to get her home, as soon as he saw what had happened in New York and at the Pentagon. In my case, I had no work that day, but heard over the radio about the first tower strike and also headed straight home, being glued to the TV screen most of the day. Penny and Aram went to their respective schools, which were let out early, as many parents were beside themselves, with “what ifs” and doomsday scenarios. I was just as glad they came home.

Stay aware, friends, and stay close to those you love-in California, in the frigid eastern half of the country and anywhere else that may be suffering in this winter of heightened challenge.

The Road to Diamond, Day 40: Cherishing

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Posted by on in Assistance, children, collaborating, Community, Education, Family, Historical, Matters of Faith, Personal Values, Service Activities, Social, Spiritual, Striving, Travel

January 7, 2025- The animated teacher spoke of a calamitous event in our nation’s recent history. He wanted to remind the adolescent students, themselves only vaguely aware of that particular incident, just how fleeting such memories can be, and how easily they can be manipulated by those with ulterior motives. This conversation will continue tomorrow, and perhaps for several more days.

The freedom we have in this country is worth cherishing. So are the love and friendship that have been built, sometimes over decades. So are the gifts that the Divine has imparted to each of us. I thought of these things all day, as once again, I was placed in a setting where I could focus on one or two students at a time, and key in on the boy or girl and specific needs. I will do this for the next two days, as well. Part of the task is to support the teachers in their explanations and foci. Thus do I go forward.

In an evening orientation, for a Baha’i family who are moving to one of the Native American communities where Penny, Aram and I once lived, I also focused on what is cherished by First Nations people. There are friends in that area who I have not seen for several years and others from whom I hear, every so often. The reality, though, is that were I to return to the place, I would be at least welcomed by some, as if I had never left. That is what I wish for this new family, provided they open their hearts to the people.

I will likewise always cherish the friendships I have made here in the Prescott area, over nearly fifteen years. Regardless of what transpires, these next several months, this will always be a Home Base of my heart. The same will be true of the Philippines, no matter how things turn out on my next visit.

Life is for the cherishing, not for the expectancy.

The Road to Diamond, Day 39: Institutional

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

January 6, 2025- The day in Washington came and went, with scarcely a murmur. The will of the people, albeit by way of plurality, was acknowledged and for the second time in our nation’s history, the losing standard bearer of a major party was the person certifying the election of a rival. Albert Gore, Jr. did that very thing, on 1/6/01 and Kamala Harris did so today. The institution of the American republic, a form of democracy, was the winner.

It made me think of other institutions: Parenthood, grandparenthood, marriage, community, corporation, formal education, personhood. Each has its rules and practices, which are its underpinnings. Those who challenge any one of the institutions, on its face, are exhibiting an inclination towards mayhem. That does not mean that the institution should be impervious to change. Our Constitution is replete with the amendment process, for the very reason that the government of 1788, or 1861, cannot possibly address all the needs of 2025. Familial institutions, likewise, have the duty to their members, to regularly communicate across the roles of parent, spouse, child, sibling-and even grandparent, so that the personhood of any given member is not trampled or sacrificed.

In the institution of the school, there is a trust between teacher and student. Today, my role as substitute teacher was a special position of trust: A new semester, a new term, was starting. The regular teacher had a last minute emergency, and though today was the start of a major activity, his life had to take its course. I was able to dust off the cobwebs of my technological savvy and get the basic activities started. The task in question was a vocational education exercise, which will last for two weeks. Those who recognized its import-the majority of students, thankfully, set themselves to the task, some choosing to work in small groups and others on their own. Thus are the members of one institution, the school, beginning to prepare for membership in another, the workforce.

It remains my honour to offer support to institutions, holding up their traditions when the good of the order warrants and working to effect change, when the converse is true.

The Road to Diamond, Day 38: Cycles

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

January 5, 2025- I have listened to two very different takes on this calendar year. The one, of which I wrote yesterday, was made with a hokey presentation but came across as very hopeful, though it involved other galaxies and beings of questionable status. The second, made by a cosmic advisor who is very much grounded in reality, pointed out that this is a year of simultaneous endings of old relationships and processes, and beginnings of new ones. 2024 was certainly a dress rehearsal for that, with the passing of my mother and several longtime friends. The speaker this morning said to remain grounded in a strong soulship, and not to be depressed or downhearted by any rapid changes in relationships, even if they are with those dearly loved. Other relationships and processes will replace those that end. Most importantly, she said it was never necessary to channel energy externally. All the strength one needs is within.

I reflected on my life up to now, not in a rigid decade-by-decade manner, but in terms of actual cycles. 1950-1964 was a time of firsts, and of thinking that I didn’t deserve a whole lot. So, when I did get nice things, I used them for a short time, then set them aside, except my books and records. Bicycles, weight sets, even a junior chemistry set, all were used just a bit, then set aside in the closet or downstairs, or in the case of the bikes-given to my siblings. I didn’t think I deserved friends, and so spent much time alone. It wasn’t until that became counterproductive, in eighth grade, that I started to rethink the matter.

1964-1968, the high school years, was a time of discovering the love I had for other people. Though I still regarded myself as unworthy (a sense that would be my shadow until fairly recently), grades were kept up, school events like dances drew me out and I worked at a job or two, with minimal success.

1969-1980 was a period of self-loathing. I functioned, but just barely, serving in a position of fair responsibility in the U.S. Army; earning Associate and Bachelor Degrees, being in the middle of my class in each; and working at both teaching and a smattering of part-time jobs, while still not exactly excelling at any of them.

1981-1997 was a high water mark. I earned a Master’s Degree, met and married my first true love, sired and raised a child, and actually made a difference in my professional work. Much of this came about because I embraced the Baha’i Faith, and in turn, embraced sobriety. The self-loathing was still there, but kept under wraps.

1998-2013 found me floundering again. My beloved was suffering and in declining health, and I was facing my own demons, though maintaining sobriety, helping our son navigate adolescence and fend off those who wanted to hurt him, and acting as my wife’s caretaker. Jobs came and went, but substitute teaching was my saving grace, and kept us with food on the table and a roof over our heads. For two years after Penny died, my struggles continued, until I finally began to regard myself as worthy of true self-respect.

2014-2024 has been another period of rising. I have rediscovered our country and the world, established genuine friendships and gained the respect of those who knew me when. Public service, mostly volunteer work, has helped me feel like a worthy part of a community. Most importantly, though, my self-loathing is gone. In maturity, I have faced down five people who tried to take away my self-esteem and embraced those who truly have my best interests at heart.

This year finds me at a crossroads. Someone dear to me may, or may not, be part of my future. She has her own path to follow. Either way, I am in a good place and am ready for whatever comes-continuity or seismic change. Never again will I blame myself, or anyone else, for what comes to pass. Everyone is on a journey all their own, and each deserves support from the others.

I briefly considered including Frank Sinatra’s song, “Cycles”, with this post. It doesn’t quite sum up my mood though. Instead, here’s Bruce Springsteen’s “The Rising”.

The Road to Diamond, Day 37: On Leaving Home Without It

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

“Know thou that every fixed star hath its planets, and every planet its creatures, whose number no man can compute”.– Baha’u’llah, “Gleanings from the Writings of Baha’u’llah, page 163

January 4, 2025- In the film, “Down and Out in Beverly Hills” (1986), a Native American man casts aspersions, in no uncertain terms, on those who would not think of leaving home without their credit cards. I don’t leave home without my wallet, so maybe Tom-Tom would get on my case. Whatever. I do, however, leave my phone behind, when on short in-town errands, on weekends.

What few of us leave behind, though, is our spirit, our basic self. This evening, I watched a You Tube video by a woman who said she was channeling a spirit from another realm. I did this out of curiosity, as to what the being could possibly say that would mesh with what Baha’u’llah teaches , regarding the future of humanity.

While the woman used a carnival fortune teller voice, during her channeling, and frequently referred to the interstellar messengers as “ETs”, rather than their galactic or stellar origins, she did hit on several points that Baha’u’llah mentions: The worn-out institutions of human society are collapsing, and a new, more equitable, planet-wide society will slowly, but steadily begin to emerge, this year, as more of us have a better sense of the light (spiritual power) within us. As more people realize their spiritual power, conflict will abate, and still others will develop their light power. Christians know this as “the Kingdom of God on Earth”, and Baha’is certainly concur with that notion. She told her viewers that we would do well to not pay much mind to the collapsing institutions, save to survive and focus on the positive energy that was rising.

An interesting analogy was made, noting that the power of water on Earth is gradually being released, as ice melts. Ice was likened to the pent-up, unused potential of each person. As ice melts, so does our potential get tapped for optimum use. That is a positive spin on climate change. I do sense a different energy, these past four days, and see a good many people are showing positive vibes. There seems more common sense, efficiency and heightened intuition, at least around town. While I don’t need a fortune teller to clue me in on these matters, I’m glad we’re on the same wavelength.

Tom-Tom aside, let’s not leave home without our essentials.

The Road to Diamond, Day 36: Downsized

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

January 3, 2025- The first box of books went to Prescott Public Library’s “Friends of the Library” book sale. A second box will go there, either tomorrow, or Monday, after work. Some other books will be offered to a friend and still others will go to my little family, when I visit them in April.

It takes a lot for this lifelong bibliophile to let go of any literary work. Storage and shipping, though, are reality checks-and if a oenophile I know and love can let go of a wine collection, I can do the same with my books. Other items will also be dispensed-either donated or sold at a discount, by the end of April.

To be clear, I remain in good health, so a curtain call is not the reason for this shedding. It’s the energy that says a move is in the air. Whether to one place or to another is still to be determined, but the call is getting more insistent. I’m happy in Home Base I, yet there is much more to do, on a wider scale. Details will be released as I get a clearer sense.

As for today, I visited another place where the staff seem unified and appreciated: Theodore’s Fine Foods, a bagel and croissant eatery that has moved into a corner lot that has had problems retaining its tenants, since a long-time restaurateur retired in 2014. T’s looks like it will be successful. Its bagel sandwich menu is small, but imaginative, and I enjoyed a Turkish bagel with sofra sausage. T’s sweet treats include a cruffin, which is a croissant muffin, that has a custard filling. The place was quite full while I was there, affirming that it is making a go of success.

My soon-to-be minimalist status in Prescott will nonetheless continue on a cheerful and welcomed note.