Category Archives: Community

Diligencia

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Posted by on in Assistance, children, collaborating, Community, Education, impediments, Inner Struggles, Inspiration, Personal Values, Service Activities, Social, Striving

April 25, 2024- The rain came down in buckets, ending three weeks of dryness and keeping the fire danger down for another month or so. I had a room full of Kindergarten English-language learners, who noted that it was raining-again (“Otra vez”) and they hadn’t been out all day. They continued to work on their foldable stories, we read them, they highlighted their sight words, the first letter of each sentence and the punctuation mark at the end of each sentence-and then we played. They built little “forts”, by moving chairs and cushion pillows, while a timer counted down. When the time ran out, the screen said “Poof”, and the hamburger on the screen disappeared. Then the kids did-actually, just going back to their classrooms, after putting everything back.

The others, first and second graders, were equally diligent. Even those, especially those, who had minimal competency in English, applied themselves to their tasks with a drive that people in high school would do well to emulate. They let no time elapse, when finished with one task, before asking what was next, and diving right into it.

That made me think. What happens in the lives of children to turn a hard worker into a dodger, a slacker? Some who go through a slacking phase, and then get their bearings and turn into productive adults, can say it was due to the adults in their lives being alternately overbearing and overindulgent. Others gave in to peer pressure, and others were just testing the limits. In the end, though, those who’ve turned themselves around have looked back at the real “good old days”, when their classmates and they were getting satisfaction from learning, going home to parents who were genuinely proud of their achievements.

The fog of insolence can sink in as early as 7-years of age (I saw one, a scowl on his face, as he waited for his teacher to open the classroom door, while my students and I were walking towards the ELL room). It will likely take a lot of diligence, on the part of educators and social service professionals, to turn his life around. Such a shame. The high achievers will walk on past him, but the smartest among them will stop, turn around and hold out a caring and insistent hand.

Viva diligencia!

Degrees of Separation

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

April 23, 2024- The individual, always congenial and engaging in the past, did a complete 180 today, glaring at all but a few chosen co-workers, and tersely responding to well-wishes. Fortunately, this turnabout did not get directed towards children, but was rather puzzling to the rest of us. It was hopefully just the result of a random bad day.

Things like this put me on guard, though, as there were many mercurial and unpredictable people in my childhood, mostly teenagers, but several adults as well. I learned to be very guarded, a tactic my mother also stressed was essential for my safety and well-being. That mantra has played in my background ever since. It was playing today, though fortunately the children with whom I worked were co-operative and appreciative.

This brings me to the matter of the separation, the barriers people put up, even against those who clearly mean no harm. Groups do this also, and with a vengeance. In the worst cases, there are laws, ad hoc groups and social customs that enforce separation. More commonly, language speaks to the barriers: Prefixes, like “anti”, “un” and “non”, meant to enforce “Us vs. Them”; Nouns and adjectives, like “alien”, “illegal”, “filthy”, “degenerate”, even “homeless” are employed to suggest that someone’s presence is an impediment to the well-being of the dominant society.

Arguably, none of us can be sweetly all-accepting of all behaviours. Yet, I can’t get past the notion that, in the Divine Creation, there is no other-unless the construct that Jesus the Christ called “Satan” or “the devil” is somehow to be maintained as a competitor to the Creator. The lower nature of the human mind, which is what was really meant by that construct, is also behind the us vs. them mindset. Without fear, hate and envy, there is no “other”; there is only us, only we.

When the out-of-sorts individual gets past whatever caused the anger shown today, perhaps there will be one less person towards which my guard will need to be maintained. That is the joy of not seeing anyone as “the other”.

Commonalities

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Posted by on in animal and plant life, collaborating, Community, Hiking and Nature, Inspiration, Personal Values, Social, Striving

April 22,2024- We are all part of an astonishing web of consciousness.

Bees are known to play with small wooden balls, pushing them around, until one of the bees falls. Octopuses recall certain kinds of fish, visually, rather than by the sound of their swish. Baby spiders scamper to catch up to their mother, as she walks along the floor, toward the bathroom cupboard. Corvids, from ravens to jays, recognize the faces of friends and foes alike, from day to shining day. A sea turtle recognizes its human handler’s voice, nibbling either lettuce or spinach, when given a choice. Androcles removed a thorn from the paw of the lion and the great cat purred, as his eyes were shining. A mother baboon tended the wounded baby meerkat grooming and feeding the little one, until its health was intact.

We all feel, all remember, and most can recognize themselves in a mirror, if even after some repetitions in front of the reflector. Instinct is common to us all, and so is industry; so is the use of tools, no matter how simple. None of us enjoys living in chaos, or in filth. Indeed no one is more fastidious about cleaning a place up than a scavenger. Hornets, if undisturbed, or not enticed by scent, will leave humans alone. Poisonous snakes, if not cornered or threatened, will not pursue a human, with the intent of injecting venom.

May Earth long enjoy the presence of its diverse creatures.

Headwaters

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Posted by on in Assistance, collaborating, Community, Hiking and Nature, Personal goals, Service Activities, Social, Spiritual, Striving

April 21, 2024, Paulden, AZ- I drove about 5.3 miles past the Upper Verde Nature Preserve, rose quartz heart securely in a caddy, in the middle of the front seats. About 1/2 mile from Verde Ranch, I pulled over, as the sign said “GATE, No turnaround” Out here, “No” means “Don’t push the matter”. I wouldn’t have done that, anyway. I was raised to respect private property. Walking down to the spot where the barbed wire fence began, I backtracked to a spot where I could walk down an embankment, to an overlook. There, I scoped out the wash below, and seeing that it was dry, I thought ahead to the monsoons.

Where to bury the rose quartz heart? Its purpose is to bring a blessing from the Divine, upon a given area. The headwaters of the Upper Verde River are an area crucial for the populace of the Prescott area. We need guidance, as to proper conservation and sensible development. There are threats to both, most notably a proposed mine expansion, south of town.

Rose quartz hearts are among the symbols of positive energy, along with quartz crystals and precious gems. They may be buried or placed in a spot where they can reflect the sun’s rays. Either way, they are a source of healing energy, for the area in which they are placed. The Headwaters of the Upper Verde were the first area I chose, for placement of the small crystal.

View southwest, from Headwaters of Upper Verde area, looking towards St. Matthew’s Mountain.
A dry wash, in the Upper Verde watershed. I chose a space in front of the chaparral to the right, as the rose quartz heart’s resting place.
A rose quartz heart, now placed near the Headwaters of the Upper Verde River.

The two sandstone bricks mark the spot where the rose quartz heart is laid. (Hat and sunglasses stayed with me.)

With that, I said a short prayer and offered positive thoughts for the health of the watershed. The upcoming cross-continental journey will provide five other opportunities to lay a rose quartz heart, at various places in both this country and Canada. Quartz, to me is a good way to reflect positive energy.

The Ancient of Days

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

April 20, 2024- Today marked the First Day of the Festival of Ridvan, celebrating a period of time, in 1863, when Baha’u’llah revealed His Station and His Mission, to His closest family and followers, in Najibiyyih Garden, Rusafa, Baghdad. This serene garden is also called the Garden of Ridvan, or Paradise. The entourage mostly arrived, led by Baha’u’llah, on this day, remaining for twelve days, and then heading for Istanbul, which was then the capital of the Ottoman Empire.

Baha’u’llah and His family had been banished to Iraq, in 1853, for their association with al-Bab, His Herald, Who had proclaimed His own dispensation, thus challenging the authority of the Shiite Muslim clergy. Al-Bab had been executed by firing squad, in July, 1850, which led to the mass execution of His followers and the imprisonment of Baha’u’llah for four months. Upon His release from the fetid Siyah-Chal and an attempt by a deluded follower of al-Bab on the life of Nasiruddin Shah, Baha’u’llah was subject to exile, by order of the Shah, and crossed the Zagros Mountains on foot and on horseback, in the dead of winter, 1852-3.

Baghdad proved a relatively benign locus for the entourage, at first. Soon, though, a few aggressive members of the group, led by Baha’u’llah’s half-brother, Yahya, also known as Sub-i-Azal, began to foment dissension. Baha’u’llah left the encampment and spent two years in the mountains of Kurdistan, basically giving Azal the burden of proving his leadership capabilities. When Azal proved incompetent as a leader, an emissary from the group found Baha’u’llah in the mountains and persuaded Him to return to Baghdad. He rekindled the spirits and cohesiveness of the community. Once it began to thrive again, however, Nasiruddin Shah pressured the Ottoman Emperor, Abul-Aziz, to remove Baha’u’llah and His followers from Baghdad to Istanbul (then still called Constantinople, its name since Roman times).

This chain of events led to the time He spent in the Garden of Ridvan. One of the names given to virtually all of the Adamic Prophets is Ancient of Days. This title essentially links the Messengers, from Adam to Jesus the Christ to Baha’u’llah, to the Creator. The image of God the Father has been raised, yet there is as much a feminine energy as there is its masculine counterpart, in the Creative process. Each of the Messengers has alluded to the equality of men and women, in the sight of the Divine, yet only al-Bab and Baha’u’llah have codified this equality, in Their respective Books of Laws.

Ancient of Days is used by adherents of many Faiths, basically noting that Creation is a process that goes back further than any human can comprehend and will extend in the future farther than any human-inspired model can prognosticate. Thus we have the Teaching: “This is the Changeless Faith of God: Eternal in the past, eternal in the future.”-Baha’u’llah, Gleanings from the Writings of Bah’u’llah, Section LXX, Paragraph 2.

Thus do we Baha’is honour the beginning of Our Lord’s Dispensation, celebrating from April 20-May 1, this year.

Power Language

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

April 19, 2024- When I was a child, the concept that every blow delivered would be followed by an equal and opposite retaliatory strike was alien to me. I thought, naively, that a simple exchange of blows was enough for each boy to express his annoyance at the situation. My opponents uniformly believed that there had to be a winner and a loser.

There has been much discussion, over the past five years, about Love Language-the way in which an individual gives and receives love. My love language, for example, is acts of service. Words of affirmation, quality time and physical touch are secondary love languages-expressed only to a certain few.

Power is also a concept that is expressed in “languages” of sorts. (These are only my thoughts on the matter.) The power languages I have ascertained are persuasion, coercion, diminution, guilt-mongering and inclusion. The first and last are positive means to power. The second, third and fourth are negative, if not neurotic, power languages.


Both persuasion and inclusion involve patience, flexibility and a regard for others that is equal to one’s self-regard. Persuasion entails a commitment to a lengthy engagement with those whose agreement and co-operation are desired. Inclusion entails an inherent regard for the other person’s, or group’s, sense of self-worth. Inclusion is a longer game, in which the perception of power, coming from within the self, is large enough a reservoir that the individual sees others as being of the same worth as self. The two power languages do not entail a lesser view of either oneself or any other human being. They may even extend to non-human animals, plants, funga and spirits.

Coercion, often involving physical force, but also including bribery, co-opting, blackmail and obfuscation, is the most common historical power language. Even in modern times, the cynic’s Golden Rule, “He who has the gold makes the rules”, has silenced those whose financial or time-management skills are sufficiently wanting, that a keen observer who is hungry for power can leverage the person’s weakness and buy or intimidate them into giving up their agency.

Diminution, the convincing of social groups of their own unworthiness and of the superiority of others, is a second very common historical power language. It is the modus operandi of the plantation, of the colonial system and of patriarchy. Diminution depends on a top-down decision-making apparatus. It goes beyond the sensible system of parenthood, infantilizes women, disempowers adolescents, and instills a sense of superiority in members of a dominant culture. This is most obvious in the notions of White Supremacy and Male Superiority, but is also true of any culture where a dominant group trivializes the contributions of marginalized communities.

Guilt-mongering is the “when all else fails” power language of dominance. It features self-as-victim, gaslighting, false equivalence and an “after all I’ve done for you” pitch, each of which is like a rock in a shoe, designed to nettle and disrupt the other’s concentration and sense of well-being. It manifests itself in endless legal appeals and slow-walking of valid processes, just enough to create doubt and suspicion. It is a favoured tool of those among the well-connected who lack a moral compass. It is also a favoured tool of those in the media whose primary concern is generating revenue, at the expense of morality.

We are seeing a slow, but inexorable, move towards persuasion and inclusion as preferred power languages. The futility of coercion, diminution and guilt-mongering is being seen by more and more people around the world, as their perceived value is recognized, more and more, as impermanent, ephemeral and of scant overall value. The language of power will, in time, become linked to the language of love.

Gordian Knots

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

April 18,2024- A bit ago, a boy in an intermediate school was placed in detention, for hitting a girl classmate. He told the principal that he felt demeaned by the girl and her friends, so he did the only thing he knew-he lashed out.

Anxiety fuels fear, which fuels aggression, which fuels more anxiety and aggression-all tied up in a Gordian knot. The legend of Alexander the Great has the king using the expedient solution of cutting a complex knot with a sword, rather than trying to loosen and unravel it. Modern times find certain rulers using brute force, in an attempt to bring an end to “intractable” problems. Thus, a series of events that would be amusingly schoolboyish, were they not so chilling, are unfolding between two countries-in the guise of preservation of faith.

Thomas Sowell’s admonition that there are no solutions, only trade-offs, has never rung more true than in the matter of the conflict in western Asia. The resolution of this matter involves, essentially, two basic processes: 1. All people living within the borders of a nation-state need to have a full voice in the affairs of that nation-state, provided they are willing to abide by the laws of that nation-state; 2. Countries that neighbour one another need to fully honour the legitimate rights of all people in their neighbouring states, to say nothing of honouring the legitimate rights of their own citizens. The trade-offs will need to be worked out, but they cannot allow dominance of any one country, or national ideology, or authoritarian ruler, over its neighbours.

I’m keeping an eye on the situation in western Asia, at least for the effect it will have on my plans for Autumn, which presently involve transit stops in two airports in that region. Those places need to show a modicum of safety, in order for anyone to make even the briefest of stops. There is also the impact the conflict will have (is at least temporarily having) on global finance. The possibility exists that I may be working for wages in October, instead of visiting Baha’is in east Africa, after my September visit to the Philippines.

Fear triggers anxiety, which brings on aggression, triggering more fear and anxiety. I face all this, knowing that in either Plan A or Plan B, I will be okay on a personal level. Many communities and countries will get through the matter, just fine. There will, however, be vast areas, and millions of people, who won’t be at all fine-with the situations in Gaza, Darfur and Ukraine just the beginning, unless the Gordian Knots are untied, rather than cut.

Turnarounds

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

April 16, 2024- The nine-year-old said, matterfactly, that he had stopped himself, twice today, from acting out and engaging in negative actions. He started to misbehave, then decided it would be better to act as a leader. He is the oldest child in his classroom, and it was also important that a girl, who is his friend in another classroom, does not approve of acting out.

I routinely think of my own actions and speech. Do they fit what is becoming of someone in a leadership role? Would my spirit guides approve? Would the woman I love the most, to say nothing of my dear friends, be happy or would they be dismayed? It is of the utmost importance, to hold oneself to a gold standard.

There are all manner of turnarounds that are occurring in this time of transition. Some can be attributed to climatic change, to El Nino or La Nina. Deserts, from Death Valley, California to the Arabian Peninsula and the Dasht-e-Lut, of Iran, are experiencing intense rain that has not been seen in modern times. The United Arab Emirates and Oman are virtually shut down, from the flooding that has ensued. These desert countries are not alone. Rainfall has intensified in Central Asia and western Siberia, as well, and the Cone of South America, especially Argentina and Uruguay, had an extraordinarily wet summer (December-January). Conversely, the islands of Southeast Asia are experiencing a drought, as the tail-end of El Nino runs its course.

Transitions and turnarounds are apt to continue for at least the next fifteen months, both in a climatic sense and in our daily lives, as the solar maximum plays out, between now and September, 2025. Nothing really surprises me, anymore.

Wind Alert

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

April 14, 2024- I got a report, from somewhere, that someone I met once, last Spring, had suffered the indignity of his hair catching fire. He is okay, just a bit unnerved and probably giving his scalp an aloe bath, for a day or two.


Although it was not due to the brisk wind that we have in Arizona, during the month of April and into early May, the incident underscored the danger that all of us keep in the back of our minds. I spent part of yesterday helping install smoke detectors, in a small town, about an hour southeast of here. The season of high winds and dry skies is upon us, so being fire wise is a huge undertaking. I will spend part of next Sunday raking pine needles, at a site where I have spent a good part of the month of June, for the past three years. The forest is always at risk, so it is not too soon to start preparing.

Walking downtown and over to a place where there was a concert on the patio, I found I had to hold my desert sun hat, that is probably one size too small, several times, as the gusts came and went. The grilled cheese and salad, and the acoustic guitarist, were worth the occasional gust, even on the patio. My food didn’t blow away, but someone’s beer glass was blown over, and the impromptu clean-up crew took care of business. That’s what people do for one another here. Both the hapless lady and her husband were given refills on the house.

I was born under the sign of fire, but preventing it from being destructive is as much, if not more than, my mission as using it carefully to cook and purify. Stay fire wise, wherever you may be.

Sunset Pioneers

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

April 13, 2024- Last night, I pondered what role medication has played in my mother’s recent health woes. A friend here has had his medication adjusted, at his daughters’ insistence, and the barely cognizant soul, who had us all concerned , has resumed being his relatively feisty self. Apparently, Mom’s doctor had similar thoughts, and the resulting adjustments have made her a bit more like her old self.

This is good news for us all, and while we are not under any illusion, as to the long-term, being able to follow her instructions, that I not give short shrift to my obligations here, will be true to both her steadfast insistence over the years, that our word should be our bond and to my own sense of integrity. So long as her condition is stable, I will keep on with activities in Home Base I, both Baha’i and secular, and will head out across the continent, in the evening of April 28.

We are each pioneering our sunset years: Mom, my siblings, most of my cousins, surviving aunts, a good many of my friends, including my dearest, and yours truly. That means as many different things as there are of us. It means varying health challenges, of which thankfully I have very few, to date and which most have faced with a great deal of fortitude and resilience. I am proud of each one who has faced down aching joints, diabetes and macular degeneration, with corrective surgery, both natural and allopathic cures and a steady regimen of physical therapy. It means having a can-do spirit.

This most recent scare has reminded one and all that family comes first, then community and after that, the wider humanity. I stand firm on each of those counts. This pioneering life will continue in good stead.