Category Archives: Matters of Faith

The Road to Diamond, Day 281: Competence

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

September 5,2025- This day was meant for everything, and nothing. There was no agenda, other than an hour or so, listening to the Friday jam group at Gypsy’s, while sipping the first hot apple cider of the season and sharing stories with Hiking Buddy and in the evening, joining Baha’i friends for a Zoom devotional.

After the session ended at Gypsy’s, I walked over to a Verizon store and inquired about new iPhones. Finding out that they could not sell phones without a plan (“Locked” phones), I decided to go later over to Best Buy and see about their offerings. Crab cakes at Uncle Bud’s Cajun & Barbecue boosted my confidence, and I headed back to HB I, to get started on the afternoon.

As it happened, I got a call from the vendor who was supplying the cloth for my soon-to-be reupholstered sofa. The cloth was in, so down to the store I went. While the material was being measured and cut, we swapped stories about previous European travels. He and his wife had made two trips to France, nearly fifty years ago, with minimal language skills, and had gotten on well with the French people, in Haute-Alpes and in the Pyrenees. Long story short, he had skills that were needed in those regions, which made all the difference; plus he and she are congenial.

On the way back, I stopped at Best Buy, settling on a reasonable iPhone 14. After some introductory instructions from the sales guy, I made the purchase, and brought phone, protector and screen cover back to HB, with a plan for getting it up and running later. First came a spaghetti feed and the devotional.

With reassurance from my son, the transfer process from old phone to new got underway, taking about twenty minutes to transfer data, then set up security and decide on a few things like passwords. When it came time to turn the new phone off for the evening, hmmm- I found a different process than just holding the power button in. Power and volume have to be pressed simultaneously, it happens. Then the “slide to turn off” shows up.

Diamond Dog can learn new tricks- and add competence. I’ve heard that each new skill keeps the brain cells from fading out. I will no doubt be picking up several, in what I have set for self, in the weeks ahead.

The Road to Diamond, Day 279: Heart Letter 1

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Posted by on in children, collaborating, Community, Family, Hiking and Nature, Inspiration, Matters of Faith, Personal goals, Personal Values, Service Activities, Social, Spiritual, Striving, Travel

September 3, 2025, Keams Canyon- The hill we used to climb,and lay on blankets under the stars, is still alluring. It seems diminished somehow, though, with the campground having been taken up for house lots and a fenced in playground . The park is a nice idea for the Keams community, though.

I could have bushwhacked a bit and gone up the hill, just to reminisce about those first fleeting days of our acquaintance, which became an enduring, if sometimes harrowing, love story. It wasn’t far from this spot that your trailer sat, and where I camped out in the snow, the first time I visited you. It was all to keep up a sense of propriety, for your Hopi and Mormon neighbours. It was worth the hassle, though, and I felt akin to the small Dineh children who were traditionally thrown out in the snow, to toughen them up.

Tonight, though, there is no snow or cold, just a light rain. I am not sleeping outside, but in the comfort of some new friends’ apartment. We had a lovely dinner of cod fillets, cauliflower over rice and steamed avocado/cucumber salad. I gave them a set of books about the Hopi and one about Dineh. They are resuming the work we did in the ’80s and ’90s, and will take it to the next level.

Hopi will always be special, even if my time here is fleeting, and only occasional. The people have shared their wisdom with the world, and deserve all our support and understanding. You knew that, back then, when you sought to calm my peripatetic self and got me to devote weekends to attending ceremonial dances, instead of going off into mountains and canyons.

That, ironically, is why I am here tonight, absorbing the gentle spiritual energy that lies within these mesa lands, just prior to my embarking on journeys of homage and transition. Soon, our first grandchild will be joining the world. I will not be surprised if she looks up and smiles at a space where no earthly being can be seen. I will know that she is looking at you.

The Road to Diamond, Day 273: Jump Starts

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

August 28,2025- A call came at mid-morning: Sportage will get her new oil pan tomorrow, bright and early. Energized to move on other fronts, I went to a cloth wholesaler and picked out new material to cover my badly worn sofa. This is more of an investment in keeping the furniture out of the landfill, when it comes time for me to divest my furnishings, come late December. Of course, when a friend does the re-upholstering, at the end of October, I will be able to enjoy it in the interim. A section of the sofa is my prayer corner.

I have added a few more items to the Fall itinerary, which is looking more like the series of homages to which I am drawn, in between and after visits with friends. There is much to which I feel drawn in humility-more so than out of curiosity. Out of prudence, though, my whereabouts will be posted as they occur.

I am now three months away from #75. I celebrated the 74.9 marker with a case of alkaline water. Finally, the market has caught on here, and I’m finding this may well be a big deterrent to the dehydration that has been setting in this summer. Besides, I could use more alkalinity in my life.

Life is ever a series of jump starts and pauses. It seems, though, that a delay or block in one area opens the way for another thing to happen. I was unable to attend the funeral of a co-worker, in another city, due to the situation with the auto part. That paved the way for assistance to be given to another ailing friend here in town. This has been more the rule than the exception, over the past twenty five years. I have been exactly where I was supposed to be, at the given time-yet not necessarily by my own design.

The Road to Diamond, Day 272: Sacred Space

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

August 27, 2025- A House of Worship should be a sacred space; so should a school. For that matter, a family home should be sacrosanct, as should any place where the occupants are engaged in service to the community-whether paid or unpaid.

It is a tradition, in several faiths, that the human body is the throne to the temple of the spirit. This, alone, is reason enough for each of us to hold self-respect and respect every other person with whom we come in contact. Mild humour aside, casting aspersions on anyone for physical attributes or harmless personality traits, is hardly a mark of respect. Besides, a joke is a joke only if the butt of the punchline is secure enough to laugh along. (I went through a few rough patches, being somewhat humourless at some stages of my youth and young adulthood. Gaining self-confidence erased that dourness.) Intentional physical and psycho-social assaults on another person will eventually boomerang on society-at-large.

These two aspects of life, the sacredness of so much in this world and the fact that many are cast aside or subjected to ridicule or marginalization, often lead to tragedies, mass casualty events, such as today’s horrific assault on a Roman Catholic congregation, in the middle of a worship service. There is never an excuse for wanton murder. There is likewise, no excuse for bullying someone because of personality features or social status.

Sacred is sacred.

The Road to Diamond, Day 271: On Hold

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

August 26, 2025- The morning after a slam-bang lightning show with matching cloudbursts, that made up for July Dry/Fry, was quiet. The air was still, and the action on a car part that I need for Sportage was even stiller. This will impact my honouring of a departed former co-worker, in another part of the state and likely delay my visit to Hopi, which I would like to make before departing for Europe. Whoever is slow-walking the delivery of the part (now in the last day of a 3-5 day delivery window), probably has their reasons. So, things are on hold.

I was able to cull cassette tapes and CDs that I will no longer use, and the last non-digital camera I had kept from the 90s. Other items are being separated, and still others will be recycled, tomorrow or Thursday. A lot of memories are being rekindled, with this process. All my loose old photos of married life and clippings of the major events of the 2000s and 2010s are consolidated in one box.

Then, there were the messages. One resulted in my reiterating my view of good and evil. This took about four repetitions, all calm but direct, and perhaps my points finally got across. This is one area where some have very deep-seated opinions and will insist on their views. I go more with common sense. The second was inquiring about the wisdom of moving to this country for the purpose of basic employment. In another time, that is something I would have encouraged and tried to abet. Nowadays, I steer the inquirer towards other countries. People with advanced, marketable skills still have a chance; labourers, not so much.

Experience shows that a day spent calmly on hold is followed by a day in which everything, everywhere, happens all at once. I will take progress on the car front and an uptick in control of four or five remaining fires in the back country. Every day brings treasure of a sort.

The Road to Diamond, Day 270: Two-Way Street

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Posted by on in Assistance, Community, distraction issues, impediments, Inspiration, Matters of Faith, Personal Values, Service Activities, Social, Spiritual, Striving

August 25, 2025- As we made our rounds at a gathering, this morning, a newcomer to the group asked each of us how we came to our present spiritual path. Each of the members briefly did so, with me being last. As I mentioned my story, one of the other members launched into a loud sidebar. I stopped speaking until she was finished, then explained to the new member that this happens a fair amount of the time. If a member is not interested in what another member is saying, then there is interruption. She wondered whether it is due to so many being hard of hearing. Perhaps. I still adhere to Mother’s Rule # 1: Never interrupt!

I used to shrink in the face of louder, more forceful people. Now, I have learned that, without descending to that level, it is okay to gently, but firmly, speak my truth. There is no need to be boorish, but generally what I share with others is fairly well thought out. I have the right to operate on a two-way street of communication.

I pondered this further, this evening, after watching a woman explain in a TED Talk about her experience with three good friends, in which she was steamrolled by the the three, who got carried away with their own experiences and left her out of the conversation. She at first processed her annoyance with them, while alone in her car afterward. Then, the light bulb went on and she realized that the two-way street applied to her also. She could have asserted herself-and they probably would have given her their attention.

I think about nature, and vacuums, and personal responsibility. In a different vein, from the time I woke this morning, there were messages, questions and calls to duty. I put my social group slightly first, with the Red Cross call and my job interspersed with the time spent in the group. You guessed it: The phone rang, twice, and I took the calls, getting back to the group with a brief description of the situation, so they knew it was somewhat urgent.

In the end, the emergency fizzled, the crew I had assembled went home and I was able to answer the unrelated texted question very simply and concisely, which made the questioner happy. Most times, life is a two-way street. Other times, it can seem like a three-branched artery.

The Road to Diamond, Day 266: Reassurance

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

August 21, 2025- E carefully went over the appropriate areas of my skin, from scalp to abdomen, then my limbs and extremities. My sunscreen has worked, as has, for the most part, my bush hat-with its neck flap. A couple of freeze-ups, and I was deemed free of any danger marks. I only need to insert a pad of sorts in the bush hat, for extra scalp protection.

A few hours later, it was time for chiropractic, after a lengthy absence. What I’ve been doing, stretching, working out and having better shoes has kept the skeletal system in good shape also. The adjustments were minor. “Medical week”, overall, was a reassurance. Only small changes in my supplements are advised, and we’ll try those.

Most reassuring was what I was able to offer a friend, affirmation that each person’s mind is unique and there is no cause for alarm. I’ve had that sort of reassurance from different people, over the decades, so giving it back is an honour.

This week has been everything I could want, in terms of results and affirmations. So much is the result of positive energy being directed towards problems and concerns. That is an affirmation, in itself.

The Road to Diamond, Day 265: Telescoped

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Posted by on in Assistance, collaborating, Family, Matters of Faith, Social, Spiritual, Striving, Travel

August 20, 2025- The Med Team at the VA Hospital called, in mid-morning, with “the bad news” that my appointment for next Monday would have to change, as Doc would be out of town. I informed them of my travel date, to which I got “We have a 2 p.m. slot today. Would that work?” Certainly! So, I went on over at that time, making the cancellation of a prior meeting that much more fortuitous.

I got a positive review of my health, at present. Doc, however, was telescoping into the future. Saying that I was only 74, he addressed a matter that could become an issue, when I am in my mid-80s, and offered a path to setting the stage for me to be a healthy octoperson, starting now. Being the proactive sort, I am going to follow his regimen, which will actually be less expensive than what I am doing now and seems to follow what I can see in the more rigourous research on the matter.

I have to do some telescoping of my own, vis-a-vis being more flexible on my upcoming sojourn than in previous journeys. I came to the understanding, in the various trips organized around Mother’s final years, that there was no sticking to a prior set schedule. It all worked out as it was supposed to. I want to keep that ethic, being more concerned with what is best for those I will visit, than just full speed ahead-my long time drawback. There is always room for a Plan B, which I also discovered last year.

The Road to Diamond, Day 262: The Face of God

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

August 17,2025- Yesterday, I came across several people who sang my praises. Today, the other side showed up. Their anger was muted and subtle, but still obvious. Life is a process of twists and turns, and one must, as my mother said, take the bitter with the sweet.

The strange energy that was everywhere yesterday was also muted today. I used the day to make sure Sportage is good for tomorrow’s drive to Phoenix and back, and to join four other Baha’is and a friend of the Faith for a devotional and light lunch. I also made further arrangements for the Swedish leg of next month’s journey.

‘Abdu’l-Baha teaches us to “see the Face of God in every person”. Further, if a person “has nine good qualities and one bad, focus on the nine. If there are nine bad qualities and one good, focus on the one.” Of course, we can hardly be expected to let those bad qualities work their ill, but He operates on the awareness that the person will come to see her/his good qualities as what will bring benefit, while the bad will be detrimental.

I pondered this, after reading a friend’s similar post, and in light of the various interactions I’ve had, over the weekend. Seeing the Face of God in one’s detractor is actually easier than it appears, at first blush. I have, over the past six years, taken the view of trying to glean self-improvement from negative encounters. ” What is the critic trying to teach me?” seems to work better than “What have I done to deserve this?” It has helped, in more ways than one.

The Road to Diamond, Day 260: Selective

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

August 15,2025- Each of six groups, of five or six students were asked to prioritize a list of items that might wash up on the shore of an island where the group was hypothetically stranded. There were common choices made by all six groups: Potable water,rope, a burlap bag and a digging tool (sometimes a shovel; other times, a trowel). There were other items that meant more to some groups and not to others. In each case, though, the variable choices reflected the personality of the group.

It is interesting that people double down on their choices, behaviourally and etymologically, not always in the interests of logic. One group of students chose a fishing net; others chose a bag of gardening tools; still others chose a cage trap. Each selection mirrored the attitude that the more vocal members of the group had towards providing food. There were other members who went along with the first recommendation-a commonality in many social groups.

This evening, I attended a steak dinner, in which each of us got to grill our own meat. There were three grills, each of which could fit four steaks at a time. Without hesitation, the first people at the grill made room for those after them, and watched each other’s meat when it was necessary for someone to go inside for a bit. The collective in our organization is hard-wired to not be selective, as to whose needs are met. Each of us is just recognized as equally worthy as the other-whether at a communal meal or when someone needs help outside of social gatherings.

I am eternally grateful to my parents for having instilled this value. Mom and Dad were always helping family and neighbours- and expected us to follow suit. There are people in my life now who have a hard time with that concept. They seem to need an “other”, to hold at arm’s length, and the prefix “non” punctuates their thoughts and language, when comparing their group to the rest of society. It has taken me a lot of patience, in explaining my world view to them. The answer is always the same: “We need to be able to distinguish people from one another.” Maybe I might be more accepting of this othering, but I don’t see where it is going to result in much good.

I have not been able to remain selective towards others, in terms of dignity and worth. This isn’t false humility; it just is how I’m wired.